Equine Genetics & Genomics

PhD student research projects are offered as they become available; however, highly motivated students interested in pursuing a PhD in this group are welcome to contact Dr Velie if they have their own project idea that they feel is in line with the overall focus of the group.

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PhD opportunities:

 

Australian Heritage Brumby Initiative: Like many conservation areas throughout the world, Australian national parks are home not only to a wide range of native flora and fauna, but also to non-native animals. In Australia, perhaps the most controversial of these non-native animals is the Australian Heritage Brumby – a term applied to the wild descendants of domestic horses introduced to Australia in the late 1780s. While brumbies in Australia have been shown to endanger native species and threaten ecosystems, there is also anecdotal evidence that some brumby populations are reservoirs for ancestral horse bloodlines. Consequently, when ecological arguments for brumby eradication in the wild are put forth, these arguments are quickly refuted by brumby organisations that claim brumbies have novel genetic variants that should be preserved. As a result, brumby management continues to be and will likely remain highly contentious until the genetic status of wild brumbies is established. In this project, we will use state-of-the-art genomics technologies (i.e. high density array data and advanced bioinformatics and modelling) to answer 1) What is the relationship between brumbies and modern horse breeds, 2) Do inbreeding levels among the mobs of brumbies warrant concern, and 3) How do alternative management actions impact the population and genetic viability of brumbies and how do these options intersect with conservation and heritage values?