Nathan Whelan - profile information
More information about Nathan Whelan
- Assistant Research Professor
- Director USFWS Southeast Conservation Genetics Lab
- School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences
Short Bio
I am a United States Fish and Wildlife Employee with a dual appointment in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences. I started working for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2016, I started my appointment with Auburn University in 2018. Previously, I received a BS in Biology from Truman State University and a PhD in Biology from The University of Alabama. During my PhD work, I also worked at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History as a predoctoral fellow. My postdoctoral work was done at Auburn University.
More bio information
Education
PhDThe University of Alabama2013
BSTruman State University2008
Professional Experience
As a USFWS employee, I am the Director of the USFWS Southeast Conservation Genetics Lab. We are co-located with the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences. As an Assistant Research Professor, I lead a team of USFWS scientists, AU research fellows, and AU graduate students.
Research
Conservation Genetics
My lab broadly defines conservation genetics to include systematics, taxonomy, population genetics, and on-the-ground genetics management. A consequence of species decline is often a decline in population-level genetic diversity. Our research aims to understand how conservation efforts can maintain or increase genetic diversity of managed populations and species. We also seek to better understand the molecular ecology of threatened and endangered species. For this research, our lab collaborates with landowners and hatcheries. We also spend time in the field sampling at-risk, threatened, and endangered species, with a focus on rivers in the southeastern United States.
Freshwater Mollusks
Freshwater mollusks are the lab's primary study organisms. One reason we study mollusks is to enhance conservation efforts. The health of many freshwater ecosystems, and therefore much of society, rely on freshwater snails and mussels. Unfortunately, over 75% of freshwater mussels and snails are at risk of extinction, and the greatest barrier to effective conservation is a lack of knowledge. We use phylogenetics and conservation genomics to better understand freshwater mollusks.
Phylogenetics and Comparative Biology
My lab seeks to understand the patterns and processes that have contributed to animal diversification. We have a number of ongoing projects on phylogenomics of freshwater mollusks. Our phylogenomics work aims to enable robust taxonomic revisions and phylogenetic comparative biology. We are also interested in evolution of gene families, particularly those involved with invertebrate adaptation to freshwater environments.
Black Bass Genetics Management
We work with several states and private entities to monitor the genetic composition of Black Bass. For this, we developed a genotype-by-thousands (GT-seq) SNP panel that can be used to assess species purity and introgression. The primary focus of this work has been to monitor the presence of Florida Bass and Largemouth Bass alleles in managed Black Bass stocks, including confirmation of F1 hybrids. We use these data to confirm species ID and examine the extent of non-native Alabama Bass introgression in native Black Bass species.
Environmental DNA
My lab has recently expanded so we can perform cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) work following best practices. eDNA research can be a cost-effective approach for organismal surveys. We use DNA sampled from the environment to detect invasive and rare species when traditional sampling is difficult or inefficient.
