How ecology drives adaptive peak shift in threespine stickleback

How ecology drives adaptive peak shift in threespine stickleback

Divergent natural selection is a major cause of phenotypic differentiation among populations exploiting different environments, but information on the ecological factors contributing to peak shift is largely missing from natural populations. Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is an emerging vertebrate model for studying phenotype-environment associations.

Presented by:             Stevi Vanderzwan, B.Sc., M.Sc.

Date and Time:          March 14, 2016, 12:00 to 1:00 pm

Location:                       Conference Room ‘A’, Husky Conference Centre, Calgary, AB;
                                              Plus 30 level, 707-8th Avenue SW (take the escalator up two flights)

CCP:                                  This course qualifies ASPB members to earn 1 Professional Development Hour

Cost:                                 Free

This event is available by webinar here: https://albertabiology.adobeconnect.com/mar14/

You do not need to register for this presentation. For inquiries about the BBL, contact Joyce Evans

Summary

Divergent natural selection is a major cause of phenotypic differentiation among populations exploiting different environments, but information on the ecological factors contributing to peak shift is largely missing from natural populations. Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is an emerging vertebrate model for studying phenotype-environment associations, as ancestral marine populations have adapted independently to postglacial freshwater environments. I characterized antipredator, foraging, and body shape phenotypes of 800+ fish from 16 ecologically diverse sites on the Alaska Peninsula. Gill rakers, antipredator traits, and body shape significantly associated with lake ecology, whereas foraging traits and body shape were influenced by geography. Stickleback from lakes ecologically similar to the ancestral state were more phenotypically similar to marine-influenced populations than fish from ecologically divergent habitats (i.e., small lakes). My study elucidates mechanisms associated with adaptive evolution and is one of relatively few that links ecological features of the adaptive landscape with phenotypic evolution in multiple populations. 

Presenter Biography

Stevi’s MSc research (presented here) was completed in 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Sean Rogers and Dr. Steven Vamosi at the University of Calgary. She also completed my BSc in Ecology at the UofC in 2010, taking a year between degrees to manage Sean’s molecular ecology lab. In 2014 she held a Parks Canada Aquatics studentship in Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, and she is currently a sessional instructor at Mount Royal University.

The ASPB is not responsible for the content of this presentation; the information and views expressed by the presenter(s) are their own.