Genetic and phenotypic diversity in sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka

The research described here is the collective efforts of my MS work in two labs at the Univeristy of Washington, the Seeb Lab and the Roberts Lab, on two different projects. The first chapter was motivated by a need for improved genetic tools for the management of sockeye salmon specifically those populations inhabiting Bristol Bay. It was initially designed to be a large-scale high-throughput SNP discovery project describing the use of new sequencing technologies for the quick development of hundreds of new molecular markers. However, due to limitations in the sequence data SNP discovery was less successful than anticipated. Therefore, the project was adapted to include the comparison and development of methods for evaluating SNPs for creating panels of highthroughput assays that are customized for performance, research questions, and resources. With the addition of this research, this study will help to advance the field of population genetics/genomics and will have significant implications for the way we select molecular markers for ecological, evolutionary, and applied research in non-model species. 

The second chapter was motivated by a desire to better understand the process of senescence in Pacific Salmon. Pilot studies at the same study site suggested a molecular signal of senescence associated with stress. This pilot work inspired the research described here providing a deeper examination of different pathways involved in senescence using molecular tools.