Genetics of mountain lions, coyotes discussed Thursday

Posted 7/16/19

Anthony Caragiulo, assistant director of Genomic Operations at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History, is the speaker at the next “Draper After …

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Genetics of mountain lions, coyotes discussed Thursday

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Anthony Caragiulo, assistant director of Genomic Operations at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History, is the speaker at the next “Draper After Dark” lecture at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. The free talk takes place at 5:15 p.m. Thursday in the center’s Coe Auditorium.

Caragiulo presents “Back to the Future: Leveraging Museum Collections in Contemporary Studies.” The presentation explores how collections historically have been used to study biodiversity, what species have been present in an area over time.

In recent years, “Advances in genetic techniques and the ability to analyze DNA from historic specimens have greatly expanded the utility of natural history collections to address even more questions about evolutionary processes,” Caragiulo said.

In his talk, Caragiulo will use examples from his own research, including his work studying the population genetics of mountain lions and the potential hybridization of New York City coyotes with domestic dogs. He also shares some of his experiences assisting those working with anthropological and art collections in identifying the biological origins of their pieces.

Caragiulo has worked at the American Museum of Natural History since 2010, when he began conducting his dissertation research on the population and conservation genetics of mountain lions in Central and South America.

Keenly interested in utilizing historic and ancient DNA in his work, Caragiulo’s main research involves using genetic and genomic techniques to study populations of a variety of species including mountain lions, jaguars, snow leopards, humpback whales, and coyotes.

The “Draper After Dark” lecture series, coordinated by the Center of the West’s Draper Natural History Museum, is supported in part by Sage Creek Ranch and the Nancy-Carroll Draper Foundation.

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