Research
A central goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how organisms adapt to their environments. To do so involves a thorough examination of the mechanisms that link genotype, phenotype, and fitness in nature. Therefore, our work spans multiple levels of biological organization and time: from the molecule to the species; and from the recent past to deeper evolutionary timescales.
To address these issues, our lab investigates the adaptations responsible for the early stages of divergence among subspecies in the recently radiated Mimulus aurantiacus species complex across California. |
Ecological Genomics of Adaptation and speciation
We use population genomics, as well as field and greenhouse experiments to examine the genomic changes responsible for the early stages of divergence and incipient speciation.
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Consequences of natural hybridization
We use landscape genomics, genetic crossing, and phylogenetics to examine the role that hybridization has played in the origin and spread of adaptations.
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Genetics and evo-devo of incipient speciation
We use classic and molecular genetics approaches to investigate the functional changes responsible for adaptive transitions in flower color, between subspecies, as well as among species across Mimulus.
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