Home > Staff > Tiffany Talley Farnham
Tiffany Talley Farnham
Research Technician
Rocky Mountain Center for Conservation Genetics and
Systematics
E-mail: tiffany_talley@hotmail.com
Tel. 303.871.3535
Education
M.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 2003
B.A. Biology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 1999
Research Interests
I am interested in the application of molecular genetic techniques to conservation biology and the incorporation of these data into comprehensive species management plans. My masters research examined mtDNA and microsatellites in Atlantic yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and lead us to conclude that, even in the face of intense fishing pressure, this species has been able to maintain both healthy population numbers and genetic diversity. An interesting additional result was what appeared to be siblings (sharing the same mtDNA haplotype and at least one microsatellite allele and each locus) caught in the same tow potentially indicating the presence of either “super females” or staggered breeding with only a few females releasing eggs at any one time. These results were presented to the Atlantic Tuna Conservation Commission and if the within tow sibling hypothesis is verified will drastically alter the management plan for this species.
My undergraduate honors thesis used AFLPs (amplified fragment length polymorphism) to look at disjunct populations of the hairy honeysuckle from western MA and Isle Royale, MI. Initial results from this study lead us to hypothesize that the populations in MA were remnant populations from the last ice age, fragmented by retreating glaciers, as opposed to long distance founding events based on the level of genetic diversity found within and between these populations.