Jill Anderson

Anthropogenic climate change has already influenced the ecological dynamics of species, through elevational and latitudinal shifts in geographic ranges, altered phenology, and disrupted species interactions. Owing to the rapid pace of climate change, species might not have the dispersal abilities needed to track preferred climates, nor the traits necessary to survive in novel conditions. Climate change will likely impose considerable selection for stress tolerance. Nevertheless, the evolutionary consequences of contemporary climate change remain essentially unresolved.

We are investigating constraints on adaptation in the context of global change using a species of mustard (Boechera stricta) native to the U.S. Rocky Mountains and a species of legume (Chamaecrista fasciculata) native to the eastern U.S.. We conduct large-scale field, growth chamber, and greenhouse experiments to examine how climate influences patterns of trait expression, natural selection, and local adaptation. We test whether phenotypic plasticity could enable population persistence in the short term and whether fluctuating conditions associated with climate change actually favor plasticity. Our studies also evaluate whether local populations maintain sufficient genetic variation to respond to novel selection. Finally, we aim to dissect the genetic basis of local adaptation to climate through approaches such as genome-wide association studies and QTL mapping studies.