*NERC E3* Local Adaptation in the Spawning Phenology of the Common Frog.

Interested individuals must follow Steps 1, 2 and 3 at this link on how to apply
http://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/prospective-students/postgraduate/pgr/how-to-apply

Project background: As the climate warms many organisms, if they are to persist, will have to respond by breeding earlier in the year. It is not clear how, or if, most species can achieve this. Since most studies only last for a handful of years, it is hard to predict how the study organisms will respond to the full spectrum of annual temperatures they are likely to encounter. An alternative is to study a species over a relatively short time scale but at many locations that are subject to different temperatures.

The project will explore the capacity of the Common frog (Rana temporaria) to spawn at the right time across different parts of the UK. Populations can track the optimum timing by responding directly to temperature (phenotypic plasticity) or by natural selection increasing the frequency of alleles that confer a local advantage (local adaptation). Both processes give rise to a better fit between the strategy and temperature but they have limits. Imperfect assessment of temperature means that phenotypic plasticity is often not perfect, and gene flow between populations acts against local adaptation.
Using a combination of citizen science data, mathematical and computational models and genetic data the project seeks to answer a range of questions about spatial evolution. Insights from this work will provide information about the capacity of the frog to cope with the impact of climate change on the optimum spawning date. We also envisage that the tools developed during the project will be widely used to provide important information about many other species beyond the Common frog.
Key Research Questions:

1) To what degree are geographic clines in the optimum tracked by local 1) To what degree are geographic clines in the optimum tracked by local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity?

2) How far does gene flow push populations away from local optima, and what are the evolutionary consequences of this?

3) Do populations in different parts of the range show different strengths of phenotypic plasticity?


Methodology:

Field work: Most data will come from a large database of spawning dates across the UK collected over the last 15 years by citizen scientists. There will be scope for augmenting these data by visiting regions of the UK that have been under sampled.

Lab work: Citizen scientists will be engaged to send spawn samples from across the UK for genotyping. These data will be used to infer historic and contemporary gene flow in the frog population. The laboratory work will be reasonably straightforward but some experience with modern genetic markers would be helpful.

Computer work: The empirical data will be analysed and interpreted in a statistical framework developed by the supervisors. The student will be trained by the supervisors in this respect and can expect to achieve a high-level of proficiency in statistical, mathematical and computational methods.

Training: A comprehensive training programme will be provided comprising both specialist scientific training and generic transferable and professional skills. The first year will include an intensive one-semester course on theoretical population genetics, quantitative genetics and statistics that will provide a basis for the theoretical and statistical work.

Requirements: A first class undergraduate degree or MSc in ecology or evolution is desirable, and you will need to have an aptitude for statistics.