We use a small fish called the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as a model system. These fish have evolved incredible diversity in morphology, behavior and life history over a relatively short evolutionary time scale. A number of genetic and genomic tools have recently been developed for threespine sticklebacks, which has allowed us to identify the actual genetic and molecular changes that underlie this phenotypic diversity.
Currently, we are using this system to investigate the genetic and genomic mechanisms that underlie reproductive isolation between threespine stickleback populations, the evolution of morphological and behavioral diversity among stickleback populations, and the evolution of sex chromosomes.
