Richard W. Orton

M. Sc.

I am interested in how conservation initiatives and our understanding of molecular evolution can be merged to generate mutually beneficial and informative data sets. My research relies on the ability to interrogate genomes in order to assess the complex relationships between selection and historic demography. For my PhD thesis, I am using genomic data to address questions regarding genetic load and the timing of genetic bottlenecks in the North Atlantic right whale. As a member of a larger research collective, it is my goal to help inform future conservation efforts of North Atlantic right whales while also strengthening our understanding of the evolutionary history of the species.