Understanding the genetics of bird migration is a long-standing goal in evolutionary biology. BlackcapsSylvia atricapilla are ideal for this work as different populations exhibit enormous difference in migratory behaviour and little else. We characterize (i) phenotype, population structure and demographic history the blackcap, and (ii) identify sequence variants and signaling pathways that are...
Since Darwin’s time insights from the fields of behavior, ecology and genetics have illuminated the process of speciation. In this talk I will highlight our recent discoveries of evolution in Darwin’s finch populations in the Galápagos archipelago. Field studies of the behavior of individuals and the ecology of populations reveal how the species are reproductively and ecologically isolated....
This presentation explores the intricate relationship between selection, chance, and evolutionary history in microbial adaptation to dynamic environments. We implement a multiscale approach to experimental evolution, allowing us to simultaneously observe individual cells and entire populations. This integration of microfluidic technology with traditional batch cultures enables detailed...
Evolutionary analyses have focused on natural selection as the major driver of evolutionary change, with mutations thought to play a relatively small role. Analyses of mutation typically focus on mutation rate, because it constraints the supply of beneficial mutations during adaptation. However, a growing body of work now shows that mutation bias – whereby some types of mutations occur more...
Some plants have developed a clever strategy to cope with the cost of inbreeding. This strategy is realized through a genetically encoded recognition system, allowing the plant to distinguish between its own pollen and that of others. Based on this distinction the plant accepts or rejects the pollen. The complexity of this system, including high dimensionality and inherent randomness, makes...
Alfred Russell Wallace is known for his fundamental contributions to the theory of evolution as we know it. He was an exceptional naturalist who carried out extensive fieldwork in places acknowledged nowadays as biodiversity hotspots, which led him to ask key questions on the geographic distribution of animals. But some of its most influential ideas relate to the function of the wide array of...
