Joseph Curti

Joey Curti is a second year doctoral student in the Wayne Lab at UCLA.  After graduating undergraduate
from the same university with a B.S. in Environmental science, Joey worked for three years at Mountains Restoration Trust, a non-profit in the Santa Monica Mountains, as the Grants and Science Administrator.

For his PhD, Joey is interested in applying whole-genome sequencing to address conservation management questions in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles and throughout California.  Specifically, Joey is researching:

  1. The origins and impacts of long-term isolation and small population size on California red-legged frogs (Rana draytonii) in the Santa Monica Mountains to inform active reintroduction of the species,
  2. The impact of roadways on the genetic health and population connectivity of California quail (Callipepla californica) in the Santa Monica Mountains to inform the planned construction of the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing, and
  3. State-wide population structure, patterns of gene flow, and signatures of local adaptation across all 19 ecoregion of the Yuma bat (Myotis yumanensis)

In his spare time, Joey can be found hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains with his dog Aldous.

 

Selected Publications
  • Curti, J., Fergus, E., and De Palma-Dow, A. State of the ART: Using Artificial Refuge Traps to Control Invasive Crayfish in Southern California Streams. (In Preparation).
  • De Palma-Dow, Angela, and Curti, Joseph. (2020) It’s a Trap! An Evaluation of Different Passive Trap Types to Effectively Catch and Control the Invasive Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii) in Streams of the Santa Monica Mountains. Management of Biological Invasions, 11(1), 44–62. https://doi.org/10.3391/mbi.2020.11.1.04
  • Sastre N, Francino O, Curti JN, Armenta TC, Fraser DL, et al. (2016) Detection, Prevalence and Phylogenetic Relationships of Demodex spp. and further Skin Prostigmata Mites (Acari, Arachnida) in Wild and Domestic Mammals. PLoS ONE 11(11): e0165765. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165765
Grants and Awards
  • California Conservation Genetics Project Grant, Sep. 2020
    Project: “Landscape Genetics, Climate Vulnerability, and Historical Demography of the Yuma Bat in California”
  • National Park Service, Research Learning Center Grant, Feb. 2020
    Project: “Assessing the Population Dynamics of California Red-legged Frogs to Inform Long-term Conservation Efforts in the Santa Monica Mountains”
Outreach
  • Member, qSTEM at UCLA, Nov. 2020 – Present
  • Board Member, Bruin Audubon Society and Birding Club, Sep. 2019 – Present
Wayne Lab