We are interested in life history evolution in general, and our current research is focused around three connected themes:
(2) The role of life-history trade-offs during the evolution of long lifespan
(3) Population differentiation in wild salmonoid populations (together with the lab of Johanna Sjöstedt)
We investigate these questions using experimental evolution, artificial selection, pharmaceutical and genetic manipulations in the powerful Caenorhabditis remanei and C. elegans nematode model systems. Through external collaborations we also study adaptation in nature (using amphibians, Daphnia and flycatchers)
The Nematode Lab
We work in the well-equipped Nematode Lab at the Dept. of Animal Ecology
Research Areas
(1) Evolution of inheritance systems (phenotypic plasticity, parental and epigenetic inheritance) during adaptation to new environments
The belief that the genetic code is the sole basis for biological inheritance has been challenged by the discovery of several mechanisms of environmentally induced, non-genetic regulation and inheritance, including epigenetic inheritance (the inheritance of environmentally induced phenotypes to the offspring).
All organisms live in temporally heterogeneous environments, and recent theory suggest that the period of environmental fluctuations is the key to the evolution of non-genetic inheritance, where phenotypic is adaptive during short and unpredictable environmental fluctuations, while parental effects and epigenetic inheritance are adaptive when the environment cycles over longer periods.
Non-genetic effects can also influence evolution. Theory suggests that environmentally induced phenotypes can aid adaptation by enabling a population to survive in new environments, until genetic change catches up.
Our lab investigates the role of environmental heterogeneity for the evolution of inheritance systems and their transient dynamics during adaptation to novel environments using experimental evolution using the nematode C. remanei as a model system.
We also study the mechanistic basis of these non-genetic effects by manipulating target genetic pathways in the C. elegans model system.
(2) The role of life-history trade-offs during the evolution of long lifespan
Long life is generally not for free, but lifespan often in trade-off with other traits such as reproduction, growth or development, or results in costs expressed in the other sex or in the offspring.
Using experimental evolution or artificial selection we investigate the evolution of long life and evolutionary costs of lifespan extension, using C. remanei as a model system.
We also use pharmaceutical and genetic manipulations of C. remanei or C. elegans in order to understand whether target genetic pathways, known to extend lifespan, also has pleiotropic costs or if long life can, indeed, be for free.
(3) Population differentiation in wild salmonoid populations
This project is performed together with the lab of Johanna Sjöstedt. The project have an official external webpage. It is part of an initiative from the Swedish EPA (Naturvårdsverket) and the Research Council Formas to advance ecosystem-based aquatic management (more information about this initiative)
Efficient management of fish stock relies on biological monitoring for obtaining precise data on structure and size of populations. Fishery management commonly lacks knowledge on genetic population structures although this information is central for conservation efforts and sustainable management. Fast and cost-efficient methods for genetic analyses are needed to enable optimized management efforts, and environmental DNA (eDNA) has been suggested as an efficient approach to sample genetic material directly from environmental samples.
eDNA is commonly used to determine species presence and diversity but also hold great potential to obtain population level genetic information from water samples. In addition, recent findings suggest that eDNA concentration can provide a rapid, cost-effective indicator of abundance and/or biomass for fisheries stock assessments. However, the sensitivity of genetic methods used for analysing eDNA as well as the effect of environmental factors on eDNA concentrations need to be evaluated. The aim of this project is to evaluate if eDNA can be used to determine genetic population structure and population sizes for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (S. trutta), and we will specifically:
- investigate if different genetic techniques for identification of intraspecific genetic differences capture the same population structure,
- evaluate if eDNA can be used to determine intraspecific genetic difference with the same resolution as tissue samples and
- evaluate if eDNA quantity correlates with abundance and/or biomass measurements from electrofishing.
Evaluating and comparing the different methods helps finding the most time- and cost-efficient method for resolving population structure. In addition, the use of eDNA for monitoring genetic structure in fish populations as well as population sizes would provide less invasive sampling and increased efficiencies allowing sampling in remote areas not accessible for electrofishing.