Adaptation to biotic & abiotic environmental changes in two speciation models
Abstract: Changes in environmental conditions can result in direct changes in habitats animals have to adapt to in order to survive, but can also induce important changes in distribution ranges and community interactions, forcing cohabitation between species that may not have been in contact before. In this talk, I will focus on two model systems at very different stages of the speciation continuum: threespine sticklebacks, and how they adapt to novel sensory environments in Iceland, and collared and pied flycatchers in the secondary contact zone of Öland in Sweden. I will present results from both experimental work and long term monitoring of these populations, and tackle some of the different conditions these animals have to face in the context of invading new habitats and interacting with their environment, competitors and predators.