Our goals are to increase the knowledge about how eco-evolutionary processes interacts with environmental fluctuations in both time and space to shape the variation in life history strategies that we observe within and among species in nature. This involves examining how spatio-temporal dynamics of vital demographic population characteristics (e.g. population size and density, age-structure, demographic variation, and dispersal) interact with phenotypic variation and evolutionary dynamics, and the role of genetic variation in these interactions. To achieve our goals we combine state-of-the-art genomic tools with development and application of novel statistical methods to analyse individual-based data on fitness-related phenotypic traits, life-history traits, and fitness-components. Our main study systems are several intensively studied natural vertebrate populations, including house sparrows, water voles and arctic foxes. We also provide molecular genetic resources and assistance needed by other research groups at CBD. Furthermore, the empirical individual-based data on phenotypic traits, fitness, and genetic variation we produce is, along with results from our studies: 1) needed to parameterize and test models developed by other research groups at CBD; 2) attractive for scientists who wish to use our unique data in international and national collaborative projects that test hypotheses and answer questions in various fields in biology.

Current research

Mechanisms that link ecological and evolutionary processes: By identifying and studying fitness related traits in time and space, we aim to increase our understanding of how life history characters affect population dynamics, and how selection may result in evolutionary change in fluctuating environments.

Effects of dispersal and population characteristics such as population size on genetic variation: We study what factors affect the distribution of genetic variation within and between populations, and thereby contribute to a better understanding of evolutionary processes and the viability of endangered populations.

The relative importance of genes and environment for phenotypic variation: We develop methods to obtain precise and unbiased estimates of the relative importance of genes and environment for variation in phenotypic characters. These methods are used on empirical data from natural populations to predict the rate and direction of adaptive evolutionary change in fluctuating environments.

The genetic basis of ecologically important characters: By identifying the genetic basis of traits involved in adaptation, we aim to improve our understanding of how processes at the molecular level relate to processes at the phenotypic level.