Hawaiian Damselflies Provide Insight into Gene Flow

Maddie Cloud ’14 and Eric Streed ’14 spent the summer studying damselfly genes mentored by Jackie Brown, biology.

They evaluated the role of isolation between islands as a barrier to gene flow in two multi-island species of Hawaiian damselflies.

Their research included using a newly developed population genomic approach called restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing (or RAD-seq), a dynamic and flexible tool which allowed them to simultaneously identify and screen variations at thousands of spots across the genome.