Our group investigates the genomic and ecological mechanisms of adaptation and evolution in non-model organisms, with a particular emphasis on climate change responses, social insect biology, cryptic diversity, and phylogeography, using cutting-edge sequencing and bioinformatic approaches.
The ability of a species to persist, adapt, and disperse in the face of environmental change is fundamentally shaped by the genetic and phenotypic variation present within and among its populations. Understanding the extent and functional significance of this variation is central to predicting how biodiversity will respond to ongoing global climate change.
A core focus of our work is understanding how populations respond to climatic gradients — both historically and in real time. We combine population genomics and phylogeographic approaches to reconstruct the demographic and evolutionary histories of species, revealing how past climate fluctuations have shaped current patterns of genetic diversity and distribution. Building on this foundation, we use common-garden experiments and long-term selection studies to link phenotypic variation in life history traits to their underlying genomic basis, with the goal of identifying the genomic architecture of climate adaptation.
We investigate the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms underlying adaptation in non-model organisms, combining molecular, genomic, and phenotypic approaches across a broad range of taxa and ecosystems. Our study organisms include freshwater invertebrates such as chironomid midges (Chironomus riparius), social insects, as well as snails, fish, and trees.
This taxonomic breadth allows us to identify both taxon-specific and general principles of adaptation and evolution.
