My lab is an inclusive environment for training in ecology, evolution and field biology at all levels, from junior undergraduates to post-doctoral researchers.
Why species have limits to their geographic distributions is a fundamental question in biology because it addresses both the abiotic and biotic ecological factors that limit abundance and the constraints on adaptive evolution.
Understanding how organisms become so well suited to their environment is one of the main goals of evolutionary biology. The flipside of that is understanding the ecological and genetic factors that inhibit adaptation. This is crucial for anticipating whether species will persist in today’s rapidly changing environments. We use field-based reciprocal transplant experiments combined with genomic analysis to understand the mechanisms of and constraints on adaptation.
Natural selection is Darwin’s mechanism of adaptation. We are interested is testing how natural selection varies across species distributions and whether this is responsible for apparently adaptive variation in key traits like reproductive phenology.
Synopsis of mating system research
After Charles Darwin wrote the Origin of Species, he wrote 2 books on the evolution of flowers, and it’s obvious why. The diversity of floral form, even among closely related species provides endless opportunities for testing ideas about natural & sexual selection and how species evolve. No matter what we’re studying, be it range limits, mating systems or invasive species there’s some aspect of floral biology that we are compelled to investigate.
Read more about our work on the biology and evolution of flowers.
Synopsis of work on plant clonality
Synopsis of biological invasion research
Synopsis of our conservation work
Through the research in my lab students are trained as field biologists. I also teach ecology field courses through the Ontario University Program in Field Biology. These courses are available to students from all participating universities. See here for more info.
For the past few years, my students and I have taught a field course in the deserts of the southwest USA. This has been super fun and rewarding. It’s an immersive experience: we learn, hike, eat and sleep in the desert.
See here for more information on the desert ecology field course
Synopsis of training in quantitative skills
Us, our study organisms, field sites; past, present and future
Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 Canada
