About the author: Zoë De Corte (she/her/they/them) has a strong passion for evolution, genomics and bioinformatics. They are a PhD candidate in the lab of Prof. Frederik Hendrickx (University of Ghent & Royal Natural history Museum, Brussels, Belgium) and Prof. Jennifer Brisson (University of Rochester, NY, US). In 2019-2020 they obtained a Fulbright grant and […]
Tag: EECG2020
Genetic and epigenetic relationships across evolutionary and ecological timescales in Icelandic stickleback
The ability of organisms to colonize or adapt to new and changing environments is of critical interest in biology, especially considering the threats and advances of human-induced environmental change. Certain traits may play a key role in determining population persistence or decline in the face of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and the like. In the […]
Studying the genetics of migration using hybrids from a migratory divide
Every spring, nature enthusiasts are excited for another bird migration made evident by the countless posts on social media noting rare warblers spotted in backyards and high species counts on birding trips. And the excitement is warranted, as migration is an amazing feat, both ubiquitous and complex, requiring coordination of numerous adaptations for the birds […]
Bioenergetic costs of asexuality – does the mitochondrion play a role in maintaining sex?
Among vertebrate animals, sexual reproduction is ubiquitous. But why? Asexual populations should outcompete their sexual neighbors (Maynard Smith, 1958).
Revealing ancient hybridization’s role in diversification
Hybridization between closely related species is a rapidly emerging field of interest for evolutionary biologists, and the more scientists look for signals of hybridization (with ever fancier tools), the more we learn that hybridization is the norm rather than the exception (Payseur & Rieseberg 2016). While young species pairs tend to hybridize more readily than […]
What does it take to be extreme? Insights from toxic springs in Southern Mexico
Taking a hike through the Villa Luz Natural Park in Southern Mexico, you’ll quickly find yourself enraptured. As you cross the steel bridge that hangs over the river, the lush, bright green foliage of the jungle and sounds of birds and howler monkeys surround you. The deeper you go, the faint sulfurous smell of rotten […]
Oversalted: How does a tiny floating plant cope with urban runoff?
Humans are globally redistributing salt. Soils (Rengasamy 2006) and freshwater (Dugan et al. 2017) are becoming saltier, while the ocean is experiencing fresh and salty anomolies (European Space Agency 2019). In North America and other temperate zones, salt is commonly used to deice roadways and sidewalks. This makes life much safer for people, but when […]