Genetics of adaptation to environmental change in fishes

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All species exhibit spectacular variation in behaviour, morphology, and physiology. The long-term objectives of my research program are to understand how evolution results in such traits that are remarkably well suited to the environment, and to understand how adaptation to different environments may contribute to the origin of species. Using a combination of genomics and field-based experimental studies of natural selection on genes and traits, my research program tests the genetic consequences of environmental change in a small fish, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). This species is common in many temperate coastal marine and fresh waters of the northern hemisphere. Repeated colonization of freshwater environments over the last 10 000 years, following the last ice age, has resulted in freshwater populations that exhibit remarkable changes in behaviour, morphology and physiology in association with adaptation to these new environments. However, the specific DNA sequence changes associated with the evolution of adaptive traits in response to environmental change remains largely unknown. The parallel evolution of threespine stickleback and the availability of a fully sequenced genome offer the possibility to test these questions in nature. We will cross stickleback from different environments to understand the evolution of phenotypic and genetic changes following repeated bouts of adaptation to freshwater environments. Experimental field experiments will test what genes and traits have been the target of natural selection. This research will be of broad significance towards understanding the fundamental evolutionary process of adaptation. Achieving these objectives will also lead to better predictions of how organisms evolve in response to environmental changes in nature. Overall, these research objectives contribute to the protection of the environment, with the goal of ensuring long-term resilience and sustainability of ecosystems for both ecological integrity and human wellbeing.