Date

December 17, 2012

Time

11:00 am

Location

RW432

Brechann McGoey, Appraisal Exam

Stinchcombe Lab

Abstract

Introduced species offer an opportunity to study evolutionary responses in colonizing

populations. My dissertation will explore local adaptation in introduced plants, using

flowering time as an exemplar trait, which can be critical for plant fitness in new

environments. I will examine the ecological factors that drive population differentiation

(Chapter 1), the genes behind local adaptation in flowering time (Chapter 2), the capacity for

introduced populations to respond to selection in comparison with their native conspecifics

(Chapter 3), and geographic patterns of differentiation in native and introduced ranges

(Chapter 4). My thesis will integrate multiple approaches and study organisms to investigate

the patterns and processes of contemporary adaptation in non-native plants.