Speciation and inbreeding genomics of the field vole (Microtus agrestis)
For my dissertation research I am investigating how glacial cycles and isolation on islands has affected speciation, hybridization and inbreeding in the field vole species complex. Using Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) SNP data, my collaborators and I have studied how isolation during glacial cycling has driven genomic and ecological differentiation between populations, resulting in cryptic speciation. Additionally, using low coverage whole genome sequencing data, we are analyzing a hybrid zone between populations that colonized the British Isles after the Last Glacial Maximum. Finally, we are studying how isolation on small islands has resulted in signatures of inbreeding across the genome of insular vole populations.
Post glacial expansion and phylogeographic structure in Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia)
In collaboration with Nicolas Luo and Nina Therkildsen in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell, we used full mitchondrial sequence data to investigate the post-glacial demographic history and contemporary genetic structuring of the Atlantic silverside, distributed along the west coast of the Atlantic. See the editorial comment on our highlighted work in Marine Biology here.
Demography and population genetics of surf clams (Spisula solidissima sp.)
In collaboration with Matt Hare in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell, we have used a combination of microsatellite, mtDNA, and multiplexed amplicon data to understand the population structure and demographic history of two subspecies of the Atlantic surf clam, Spisula solidissima solidissima and S. s. similis. Stay tuned for a forthcoming publication of our work!
Collaborators:
Pelayo Acevedo, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos Paolo Célio Alves, CIBIO-InBIO, Universidade do Porto Joana Castro, CIBIO-InBIO, Universidade do Porto Matt Hare, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell Jerry Herman, National Museums Scotland Nicolas Luo, Therkildsen Lab, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell Nina Therkildsen, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell