Event Category

PhD Appraisal

Date

April 28, 2026

Time

9:00 am - 10:00 am

Location

UTM, DV 3130CC & Zoom

Through rapid development, pollution, and land-use transformations, humans have accelerated global climate change and have driven the proliferation of urban environments. These widespread environmental changes are strongly influencing the
ecology and evolution of species, but the generality of these biological responses is not yet clear.

In his thesis, Hayden Fargo investigates how anthropogenically induced environmental change alters evolution across multiple temporal and spatial scales and tests the repeatability of
evolutionary responses within and between species.

Fargo employs a combination of field surveys, experiments, remote sensing techniques, and population genetics to investigate how variation in climate and urbanization drive evolutionary change in a Mendelian-controlled plant defence (cyanogenesis) found in two common leguminous species: white clover (Trifolium repens) and bird’s foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

This research will strengthen our understanding of how anthropogenically altered systems affect evolutionary processes across multiple scales and will inform our understanding of the
mechanisms that drive the repeatability of evolution in these environments.

Supervisor: Marc Johnson

Exam chair: John Stinchcombe