Tag Archives: cats

It’s the city life for me… or maybe not.

Michael Fitch wrote this post as part of Dr. Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Evolution course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed a B.S. in Biology from the UAB and is currently considering entering the Master’s program.  Current interests… all over … Continue reading

Posted in bioinformatics, blogging, community ecology, comparative phylogeography, conservation, ecology, evolution, genomics, mammals, population genetics, Science Communication | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bobbing for Bobcats

Catherine Sirgo wrote this post as a part Dr. Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Science Communication course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Catherine is a Master’s Candidate within Dr. Thane Wibbels’ lab researching conservation for the Mississippi Diamondback Terrapin in Alabama. Catherine earned … Continue reading

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Inbreeding and the cougar genome

This week, some of my favorite #scicomm games on Twitter are teaming up with March Mammal Madness to reveal this year’s #2020MMM contestants in my favorite “battle of the fittest.” Specifically, today (2/21/2020) at 12:30 pm EST, Dr. Michelle LaRue … Continue reading

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From cats to rats: two studies on domestication and tameness

Anyone who has ever read Charles Darwin is acutely aware of his fascination with domestication – particularly how he fancied fancy pigeons. Darwin drew on his domestication obsession while writing his book, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, association genetics, domestication, genomics, methods, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics, quantitative genetics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Here, kitty, kitty. The cat genome sheds light on feline evolution and domestication

Although this kitten looks fierce, Montague et al. recently uncovered the genes responsible for the taming of the house cat, Felis silvestris catus, which coincided with the development of agriculture about 10,00 years ago. Grain crops attracted rodents into human … Continue reading

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