My broad interest lies in evolutionary biology and conservation biology. My current research focuses on disentangling the genetics underlying fitness-determining life history traits, particularly the question of how these genes vary across different environments. To address these questions, I am mainly using a quantitative genetic approach.
In my previous research, I also focused on how aspects of environmental heterogeneity affected different fitness traits and behaviour, but from a more phenotypic perspective. This work was done in an iconic bird species, the Siberian jay, which is native to the northern parts of Fennoscandia and Russia. In this research, I was also interested in establishing patterns of spatial population dynamics. More details follow below.
Genetic quality in a changing environment
Many studies have focused on whether females receive genetic benefits for their offspring by mating to high quality males. This question has typically been examined using a ‘good genes’ framework, or more recently, a ‘genetic compatibility’ framework. Together with my co-workers, Prof. Leigh Simmons and Dr. Damian Dowling, I have set out to disentangle the relative contribution of these different processes to important fitness characters, taking a quantitative genetic approach. Moreover, both good and compatible genes are likely to be affected by the surrounding environment. Hence, we are also interested in the effect that a variable environment has on each of these genetic processes. The above questions are addressed in the lab, using Australian field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) as the study organism.
Mating crickets (Australian Field cricket). Photo: Paco Garcia-Gonzalez
Group-living and sociality
I am interested in how living in a group ultimately affects important fitness-components such as survival and reproduction. There are many potential benefits associated with living in groups. Some examples include direct benefits such as increased predator detection, safety in numbers or increased accessibility to mates. In groups containing related individuals, there is also scope for indirect fitness gains, where helping a relative is beneficial simply because you share a large part of your genome. I am particularly fascinated by ‘family groups’, in which there exist a range of different forms of benefits that can be either direct, indirect or both. I am also very interested in how the social interactions in such groups (and of course, demographic values per se) are influenced, by the surrounding environment (e.g. habitat quality) – both in terms of intensity and direction. Hence, I have chosen to study these questions in a social, year-round resident bird species, the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus). In this species, offspring delay dispersal and stay in their natal territory where they are given beneficial treatment by their parents (i.e. the territory holders). However, offspring do not actively help to rear siblings or show any reciprocal helping behaviour towards their parents. The Siberian jay groups often contain immigrant individuals that are not related to the territory holders. These immigrant individuals do not receive any of the benefits (at least not of the more obvious ones) offered to retained offspring.
In addition to addressing the role of sociality for different demographic patterns, I have also focused on how the social context influences behavioural decision-making. In doing so, I have specifically focused on risk-taking behaviour, which is a behaviour that is likely to be of vital importance for survival and reproductive success and hence, ultimately, population dynamics. To extend this further, I have also addressed how these behaviours interact with the surrounding environment, using a multi-scale approach.
Much of this work has been done in collaboration with Michael Griesser and Jan Ekman, and Sönke Eggers.
Siberian jay fledglings. Photo: Magdalena Nystrand
Habitat-specific population dynamics
In the same manner that demographic factors may vary between populations, factors such as mortality and reproduction can also vary within a population. Together with collaborators Sönke Eggers, Michael Griesser and Jan Ekman, I have studied how adult mortality and reproduction varies over space and how this variation correlates to environmental factors. We have specifically focused on how modern forestry practices affect habitat quality.
Typical jay habitat, Arvidsjaur, Sweden. Photo: Michael Griesser
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