Climates encountered by wide-ranging species can vary enormously, from frigid arctic temperatures to seasonally hot and dry Mediterranean climates to suffocating tropical humidity. Populations of a species can evolve through natural selection to optimize their traits in response to these different environments in a process called local adaptation.

Using genomic and experimental studies of invasive plants and foundation species, our lab seeks to identify the genes underlying such adaptive differences and to understand the constraints and biases that may impact the genetic basis of adaptation. From slowing the evolution of herbicide resistance to speeding up adaptation to climate change, our ability to manage the process of local adaptation will be enhanced by a better understanding of how often the same adaptive solutions arise and the genetic mechanisms that underlie them.

Monash University School of Biological Sciences
Monash University Faculty of Science