DNA analysis infrastructure

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The goals of my research program are to: (i) document the patterns of evolutionary divergence within and among natural populations, (ii) test hypotheses concerning the origins of biodiversity from unique populations to species, and (iii) apply such understanding to the conservation of biodiversity. The models used to address these key questions in evolutionary biology are fishes of northwestern North America, including: evolutionary lineages that were isolated in distinct glacial refugia (sticklebacks, trout, and char); populations that show various degrees of physical separation via physical landform (e.g., migration barriers, watershed interconnectedness in trout, char, and grayling) or ecology (adaptation to distinct habitats in trout and sticklebacks); and species of closely related fishes that have come into contact (char and sticklebacks) postglacially. The novel aspects of this research program include: integration of historical and contemporary processes in divergence, comparative analyses of these processes in old (e.g., char) and more recent (e.g., sticklebacks) divergences, and the integration of molecular andecological methods in hypothesis testing.  Our work is important for the training of young scientists in areas of great need for Canada - aquatic and molecular ecology and biodiversity research.  Fundamental to this research program is the analysis of DNA obtained from fishes collected from throughout northwestern North America. This proposal seeks funds to refurbish aging, but essential equipment central to the extraction and initial manipulation of DNA.