Research overview

Research in the Bergland Lab addresses basic problems in ecological and evolutionary genetics. Our work focuses on the dynamics and molecular underpinnings of adaptation with particular attention to the role of local adaptation, tradeoffs, and behavior as mechanisms of balancing selection. We use tools from population-, molecular-, and quantitative-genetics and work in a variety of organisms, including Daphnia, Drosophila, and sparrows. Several of the species we study experience strong fluctuations in selection pressure over seasonal time scales providing us the opportunity to study adaptive evolution as it unfolds in the wild.

• The molecular basis of local adaptation

• The temporal dynamics of adaptation in the wild

• Behavioral mechanisms & consequences of balancing selection