Research

My research examines how recent, human-mediated global change phenomena, such as biological invasions, climate change, and urbanization, drive evolutionary change in natural populations. I strive to understand the evolutionary response of invading populations to the rapid environmental shifts that accompany invasion of a new geographic region. I focus on clarifying the evolutionary mechanisms behind phenotypic changes during introductions, with particular emphasis on how the changing ecological context affects patterns of natural selection and phenotypic plasticity, and how invasion history regulates patterns of genetic variation within and among populations. This work integrates field and laboratory studies of evolutionary genetics, ecological morphology, physiological ecology, and environmental niche modeling. The primary goal of my research is to understand how evolutionary processes facilitate or constrain the ability of alien species to invade non-native areas in order to accurately predict the future course of invasions.