Vista scientist helps unlock genome for threatened tortoise.
Plodding through the desert with a rounded shell and stumpy legs, a desert tortoise can live an estimated 50 to 80 years. It’s native to parts of California, Arizona , Nevada , Utah and Baja, Mexico, and specializes in digging long burrows where it spends most of its time.
The species has existed for 15 to 20 million years, according to the National Park Service. But loss of habitat and disease have wiped out parts of its population, and the desert tortoise is now listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, and ranked as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Genetic analysis has become an increasingly important resource in scientists’ toolkit for studying and reversing that decline.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-desert-tortoise-20170619-story.html
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