Julie Westerling

Julie Westerling is an Erasmus+ MSc student investigating the genetic diversity and population structure of the endangered Spanish minnowcarp under the supervision of Vítor Sousa at CE3C. The project, running from 2nd August 2024 to 2nd January 2025, focuses on understanding how environmental factors such as temperature, habitat degradation, and fragmentation affect the genetic makeup of populations in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula.
The goal of this thesis and traineeship is to gain a deeper understanding of population genetics and bioinformatics to explore how gene flow, genetic drift, and isolation influence genetic diversity, particularly in relation to environmental and demographic changes.