Multivariate evolution in replicated adaptive radiations in threespined sticklebacks

This is the most recent research project I have been working on as a postdoc in the lab of Andrew MacColl at the University of Nottingham. It focuses on understanding the ecological drivers of adaptation and speciation in recent adaptive radiations. The model system for this study is the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the aim is to analyse phenotypic and genetic divergence of 4 independent radiations of sticklebacks from Scotland, Iceland, Alaska and Canada.

For each of these independent radiations we want to:

1) Analyse environment-phenotype associations to find the ecological axes of phenotypic divergence

2) Quantify the genetic and phenotypic diversity contained within and between populations by using combination of advanced genomic and eco-morphological techniques

3) Understand the relationships between plastic and heritable components of phenotypic divergence through the analyses of variance / covariance in both wild and lab-bred populations

The combination of these analyses will lead to a better understanding of the environmental and genetic constraints that contribute to the phenotypic diversity observed in each one of these systems. The comparison of several independent systems will then help us find general patterns and factors responsible for replicated cases of evolution, while at the same time identify what makes each of these systems unique.