Publication: L.A. Times

UCLA Expert: Brad Shaffer: Distinguished Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Director, UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science

Synopsis: The process of re-imagining biodiversity at a genetic level is underway, and it aims to take California to a new level of protection and conservation of its living resources. The idea is so novel it could be called a grandiose 21st century experiment in advanced genetics: Identify and protect regions that harbor populations of plants and animals with healthy, high levels of genetic diversity.

UCLA News: “My goal is to map glaring hot spots of genetic diversity,” said Shaffer, who has devoted more than a decade to the cause of conserving assemblages of life forms with the greatest likelihood of adapting to future climate conditions. Currently, he leads a team of 114 researchers drawn from all 10 University of California campuses that is creating the most comprehensive genomic dataset of native species ever assembled for conservation science.

Read more at L.A. Times.