Our Research

Projects

The nature and scale of recombination and mutation rate variation across genomes - Our work on the long-term mutation-accumulation lines of Daphnia pulex has allowed us to directly estimate mutation rates in sexual and asexual lineages. Our work has revealed exceptionally high rates of ameiotic recombination including large-scale segmental deletions suggesting that asexual taxa likely experience a much higher deleterious mutation rate than previously thought.

The Genetics of Aquatic Invasions - Invasive species constitute one of the most important global threats to biodiversity, particularly to aquatic ecosystems. An important component of our research has been studying aquatic crustaceans with a recent history of invasion in both Europe and North America. These studies have demonstrated the utility of molecular markers in identifying the source populations of invaders, the corridors exploited during their range expansion, and the relative size of their founding populations. I study the evolutionary causes and consequences of invasiveness. Canadian governments are increasingly concerned about the great economic impact of aquatic invasive species. Our results on pathways and vectors of invasions are being used to more effectively manage the future spread of invasive species.

Molecular methods for aquatic biomonitoring and biosecurity - The field of DNA-based species identification is transitioning from barcoding single specimens to metabarcoding complex biotic communities. The field is rapidly integrating new sequencing technologies, bioinformatics pipelines, computational infrastructure, and experimental designs. This rapid revolution has multiple levels of challenges. Our research group has made a strong contribution on the field of metabarcoding complex aquatic communities and developing tools for biomonitoring, biosecurity and ecosystem health based on the use of environmental DNA and RNA.