User:Bryan Barney
I am a new member of OpenWetWare!
About me
I am a PhD student studying with Dr. Stephen Palumbi at the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. My primary research interest is in the application of genomics techniques and large-scale genetic expression data sets to answer ecological questions in marine populations.
I am currently working on a study of natural selection using the California Mussel (Mytilus californianus) as a study organism. As mussel beds are exposed to the atmosphere at low tides, tolerance of temperature variability is an important trait in a mussel. But some beds are much more exposed and experience higher maximum temperatures than others. To investigate this, I have used both single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and RNA expression differences to detect selection at these very small (<5 m) distances.
Additionally, I am interested in researching how ocean acidification will impact M. californianus populations. As a biomineralizer, what genes will most likely be under selection as the expected pH change alters the amount of available calcium carbonate and aragonite - critical components in the matrix of nacre and mollusc shell formation - and is there current standing variability in those genes to buffer the species? This is highly likely due to the normal variability of ocean pH on our coastline, but to what extent and where that genetic variability lies are important questions for the future of this dominant rocky-intertidal species.
Contact Info
Bryan Barney
Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
Palumbi lab
120 Ocean View Boulevard
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Email me through OpenWetWare
Education
- present, PhD - Stanford University (Biology - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, advisor: Stephen Palumbi)
- 2011, MS - San Jose State University, (Biology - Organismal Biology, Conservation, and Ecology)
- 1995, BS - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, (Biology - Marine Biology)
Research interests
- Connections between small-scale environmental variability and the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms
- Assessing gene flow across fragmented habitat, both terrestrial and aquatic
- Effects of ocean acidification on commercial, keystone, and threatened species
- Population genetics of commercial fisheries
- Cichlid phylogeny
Notebooks
Publications
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yet - working on it!
