Emma Lachance Linklater

MSc Biology at Queen's University - Population genomic structure of Glaucous Gull in the Canadian Arctic

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@UKCEHseabirds @UK_CEH Is this position open to international applicants?

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@AlvaroAdventure @UlisesBalza I completely agree! It would have been so fascinating to compare the genetic groupings with plumage and other phenotypic measures but it just wasn't in the cards this time

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

(1/4) #WSTC7 #GenSesh #TeamGull

Glaucous Gulls (GLGU) are important #Arctic predators. We conducted ddRADseq on 62 GLGU, 18 American Herring Gull (HEGU), 6 European HEGU, and 15 Glaucous-winged Gull (GWGU) to assess #popgen structure across Arctic Canada and identify hybrids.

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@ElizeYXNg I assembled in STACKS and filtered through VCFtools. I leaned heavily on O'Leary et al. 2018 (These aren't the loci you're looking for: Principles of effective SNP filtering for molecular ecologists) as a guide. Dm me and I can send you my thesis if you want specifics 😊

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@AlvaroAdventure @UlisesBalza Unfortunately there are no photos or measurements of this bird. It was sampled in 2012 as an American Herring Gull from Gull Island in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@DrGemClucas IDing hybrid gulls is extremely challenging by eye but it seems fair to assume that many gulls have hybrid ancestry but do not look much different from 'pure' gulls (if such a thing as 'pure' gulls even exist)! 😅

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@DrGemClucas The samples were collected across 40+ years so it's hard to say for sure without photos and measurements of all the birds! None of them were identified as potential hybrids in our records so the genetics is our only clue right now!

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

(4/4) #WSTC7 #GenSesh #TeamGull

We identified five potential #hybrids! Check out the PCA to spot 3 GLGU x American HEGU hybrids from Nunavut, 1 American x European HEGU from Iceland, and unexpectedly 1 American HEGU x GWGU from Newfoundland!

Thanks for joining me! Questions?

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

(3/4) #WSTC7 #GenSesh #TeamGull

2145 loci showed GLGU are genetically distinct from GWGU and American HEGU but are indistinguishable from European HEGU with these methods! Interesting but expected since GLGU hybridize with other #gulls and their complex is recently diverged.

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

I successfully defended my Masters thesis this week!

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

Saw some great presentations yesterday in #AC2020 (TER77) by @Emily_S_Choy @Ryan_OConn @AndrewBarnas and Aurélie Chagnon-Lafortune! Check out TER77 to see my presentation on population genomics of Glaucous Gull too!

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@LilaMayaCN Thanks Lily 🥰

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@Emersonjays @jenni_pro @QueensUBio @ECCCWildlifeSci Yes! This is exactly how sane I felt while making this chart

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@jenni_pro @QueensUBio @ECCCWildlifeSci Thanks @jenni_pro! I'm so glad you could attend

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

I'm excited to be giving a (virtual) poster presentation today at #NACCB2020 ! Check out Climate Change Impacts, Risk, and Adaptation today at 3pm ET to see some preliminary results!

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

@kmlong7 Wow, sorry I'm awful at Twitter! It's a ddRADseq data set

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

(3/4) #WSTC5 #GenSesh #TeamGull

Breeding GLGU and other #gull species have been sampled across the #arctic from regions with and without breeding range overlap. SNP data will be used to determine #populationgenomic structure of GLGU and attempt to identify #hybrids.

[Emma Lachance Linklater @Emma_LaLink]

I have a ton of gull jokes but no one can tell them apart!

[Russell Turner @23RTurner]

I have a duck joke but it might go right over your head.