Ecological, morphological and evolutionary diversification among sympatric individuals often reflects divergent selective pressures along environmental gradients. In many lineages, these have repeatedly produced a range of specialist phenotypes within populations, despite non-existent or incomplete reproductive isolation. A renowned example for such adaptive divergence in nature are the radiations and replicate evolution of postglacial fishes. Across many species, populations expanded into new ecological and geographic areas, which opened with warming climate and retreating glaciers. Within-lake divergences in freshwater fishes typically specialise along a lake depth gradient and a concordant suite of environmental selection pressures.
In some lineages these divergences have promoted high rates of sympatric and allopatric speciation and consequently elevated regional organismal biodiversity, such as in trout, whitefish, and charr. Our recent work has shown that the demographic and evolutionary histories of these populations can be highly variable and yet the functional expression and ultimate ecomorphological outcomes significantly parallel. As a next step, it is vital to dig more deeply into the molecular mechanisms driving these patterns.
This project will examine replicate divergences into specialist ecotypes and seek to identify their associated and underlying genetics. Specifically, it will examine parallel evolution of genomic divergence, gene expression levels, and alternative splice variants to query and evaluate topical questions in the parallel/convergent basis of complex phenotypes.
This project will build on existing datasets and with opportunity for new experiments. The ideal candidate will have some familiarity with bioinformatics and a degree in evolutionary biology or related discipline.
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