Julius' Spain Adventure

Hola amigos! In January 2020, one of our lab members, Julius William Dee attended a workshop in Seville, Spain. The Conservation Genetics in the Tropics workshop was organised by Dr. Jennifer Leonard from the Estacion Biologica de Donana (EBD), and was held at the Biological Reserve of Donana. The course discussed practical issues, genetic and genomic theory, tools and analyses as applied to issues relevant to conservation in the tropics.

Some basic questions of conservation importance include describing species diversity, determining species distributions, characterizing the basic biology of species, and understanding demographic history and population size and structure. Underlying biogeographic histories that have shaped communities, and the biotic interactions within those communities are also of fundamental importance.

After the 7-days workshop, Julius stayed in Seville for a couple of months to attend training on Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) with the local experts on mapping at the EBD. Other activities include visiting the zoology museum, attending talks, and research sharing with other PhD students and researchers.

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Dr. Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan for making this visit happened. Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Leonard and Estacion Biologica de Donana for giving the opportunity to Julius to attend this workshop and using the facility at EBD for the training. Also, to Dr. Jennifer's team; Arlo, Carlos, Sara, and Isabel for the warm welcome and great hospitality.