Pineda-Krch:Research

= Research = Below are some of projects that I am currently actively working on.

Adaptive evolution in correlated traits under global climate change
A growing literature addresses the issue of global climate change and its impacts on biological diversity. One way populations can respond to a changing environment is by evolve in response to climatic change. The majority of studies that examine the evolution of populations under environmental change typically assume a single trait that tracks a change in the mean climate. In natural systems, climate change will, however, exert selective pressure on a wide range of traits and evolution will take place simultaneously among multiple genes and gene complexes. In collaboration with Jessica Hellmann at University of Notre Dame, I am studying the evolutionary dynamics of populations in response to different scenarios of global environmental change. Using quantitative genetic theory we are investigating how genetic correlations among multiple climate related traits affect the ability of populations to respond to a changing environment.

Epidemiological dynamics of finite subdivided populations
Together with Tim Carpenter at the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS) at University of California, Davis, I am exploring the role of host-pest interactions on outbreak dynamics in finite sudivided populations. In particular, we are interested in the role of large scale complex contact networks of subdivided populations on the persistence and extinction times of epidemiological outbreaks.

Evolution of virulence
In this project I am exploring the coevolutionary dynamics of disease virulence and host resistance. In particular, I am interested in the conditions for the sympatric emergence and maintenance of multiple disease phenotypes with different virulence levels i.e. high and low pathogen phenotypes, using parameters from real world epidemiological systems such as foot-and-mouth disease and Avian Influenza.

Genetic basis of adaptive phenotypic branching
An increasing number of studies are showing evidence in support of sympatric speciation. One basic question remains, however. When a population has undergone a branching in its phenotype, is this due to evolutionary branching in the underlying genotype or due to phenotypic plasticity modifying a single genotype? Together with Richard Svanbäck at Uppsala University and Michael Doebeli at University of British Columbia we are study the conditions under which a predator phenotype experiencing selection for two alternative optimal phenotypes gives rise to genetically based phenotypic branching or to phenotypic plasticity.