Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/R001081/1
Rapid, parallel adaptation in the Anthropocene
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr AST Papadopulos, Bangor University, Sch of Natural Sciences
- Grant held at:
- Bangor University, Sch of Natural Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Panel C
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Environmental Genomics
- Ecotoxicology
- Abstract:
- As human activities have an increasingly detrimental effect on the natural environment it has become critically important to understand how habitats and species will cope with such rapid changes. The ability of a species to adapt is a crucial component of its resilience to climate change and this is reflected in recent attempts to include some component of adaptation in predictive models. However, we have a very poor understanding of the factors that might predict the evolvability of a species and so it is currently not possible to separate adaptive ability from plasticity, or broad niche breadth, based on the current environmental tolerances of a species. A first step in understanding whether evolution might be predictable in wild organisms is to understand the extent to which the adaptive process is repeatable and reproducible and what genomic signatures/features allow rapid adaptation to take place (making it identifiable). To bridge this knowledge gap we need to study instances of contemporary parallel adaptation (<200 years), such as the rapid adaptation of Silene uniflora to heavy-metal contaminated soils at abandoned mines. This project will use state-of-the-art genetic/genomic analyses, quantitative genetics and experimental evolution studies. It will investigate the roles of standing genetic variation in the adaptive process, reveal the key signatures of rapid parallel evolution and investigate the potential for strong natural selection to drive reproductive isolation of populations at very small scales (i.e., a few meters). In so doing, it will uncover the genetic and genomic patterns that will help us to recognise and estimate the potential of plant species to adapt to rapid and extreme environmental change. As genome-scale sequencing becomes more accessible, it will be possible to analyse and assess genetic variation quickly and easily in any species. Hidden in this wealth of genomic data are the clues to whether species will adapt or perish; the proposed project will help researchers to decode those clues.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/R001081/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grant FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant - NI
This grant award has a total value of £619,393
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Equipment | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £204,103 | £161,020 | £37,795 | £11,724 | £146,653 | £44,277 | £13,821 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.