Research | Current
My research is rooted in evolutionary theory and is unified by the goal of understanding how adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary processes interact in nature. Research areas range from evolutionary ecology to genomics and focus on topics such as sexual selection, adaptation, aquaculture, selective breeding and population demography. Whenever possible, I employ complementary approaches at the genomic, phenotypic, ecological and environmental level. My work involves diverse species, ranging from damselflies to flies and fish, with the strongest focus being on fish in recent years. My research has societal relevance in relation to the diversity crisis, nature conservation, primary production, sustainable development, and global change. My research group primarily uses teleost fish as a model group. Our three main areas of research interests are summarised below.
1) Developing accelerated breeding technologies for native marine fish species
Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal production sector in the world. The NZ aquaculture industry has reflected this global trend but a lack of diversity in terms of the range of species that can be cultured threatens long term growth and resilience. We seek to develop advanced breeding strategies based on novel tools adapted from other food production industries, including the use of whole genome information coupled with the automated assessment of commercially relevant traits, such as increased hardiness, growth and disease resistance. Our exemplar species are snapper and trevally which are based at the Plant and Food Research site in Nelson at the Seafood Research Facility. The Facility maintains broodstock fish, larval and juvenile fish, and can be used for experimental work and semi-commercial seed production. The backbone of the breeding work relies on the use of automated digital phenotyping combined with high throughput genomic technologies and covers the fields of reproduction, nutrition, disease genomics, quantitative genetics and genomic selection. The work is funded by a MBIE research programme (2016-2021).
2) Moving beyond SNPs: understanding the role of structural variants in adaptive evolution
Recent advances in genomic sequencing, notably the increase of long-read sequencing, optical mapping and novel assembly algorithms, now provide incredible resolution to study the presence (or absence) of a variety of structural variants. Using these tools we can now dissect the nucleotide variation contained within these structural variants as well as their ecological and evolutionary significance. For instance new studies are revealing a non-random distribution of structural variants in the genome, e.g. reuse of breakpoint locations providing insight into the mechanisms by which these variants may occur. Other work is examining the molecular mechanisms by which structural variations can contribute to adaptation and diversification, including via the suppression of recombination (inversions) and the independent evolution of genes (duplications). Structural variation is potentially more widespread and evolutionary significant than ever thought. My group uses snapper and seaweed flies to study the role of structural variants, particularly inversion polymorphisms, in adaptive evolution.
3) Maintenance of genetic polymorphisms
Why and how genetic polymorphisms persist over time is a classic problem in biology. Polymorphisms are found in a wide range of taxa. In humans, 5–15% of the examined genes are polymorphic, and in many cases alternative alleles can profoundly alter fitness. The relatively simple genetic basis of many polymorphisms (one or a few loci) makes them well-suited to study evolutionary processes, even in non-model organisms. This is part of the reason why polymorphic systems have recently become popular when studying the early stages of speciation and mechanisms facilitating or constraining reproductive isolation. My group uses colour polymorphic damselflies and seaweed flies with inversion polymorphism to shed light on these questions.
Areas of expertise
Evolutionary ecology, adaptation, genetic polymorphisms, diversification, genomics
Applications to conduct Honours, Masters and PhDs in the group are welcome.