2018-2020: Fluctuating Evolution
I worked with Luis-Miguel Chevin on his ERC project on evolution in fluctuating environment, i.e. evolution happening in a context of spatio-temporally fluctuating selection. During this post-doc, I was in charge of two different projects.
Population genomics of Dunaliella salina
As part of the project, samples of the halophile micro-algae Dunaliella salina were collected in the natural population of the saline marsh of Aigues Mortes, along a gradient of salinity. I used Whole-Genome Pool Sequencing to analyse the genomes of these populations to:
- Study demographic and genetic (gene flow, diversity, etc.) aspects of these populations
- Investigate areas of the genome which could be involved in the adaptation to salinity
Meta-analysis of fluctuating selection in the wild
In a large cooperative effort, I gathered a large number of datasets on wild populations monitored for several years, with information on a phenological trait and individual (female) fitness. The aim was:
- to ask whether temporal variation in selection could be attributed to movements of an optimum phenotype (as assumed by most theoretical models, but rarely estimated directly); and,
- to estimate the variance and temporal auto-correlation of this optimum when it existed.
2016-2018: Predicting the adaptive potential of the hihi
In collaboration with Anna Santure and Patricia Brekke, I worked on a New Zealand endemic passerine bird named Hihi (or Stitchbird, or Notiomystis cincta).
Hihi were once found over the whole North Island in New Zealand, but are now confined to a single island named Little Barrier. This surviving population was used as a source population for reintroduction in several predator-free reserves, among which is Tiritiri Matangi Island.
The aim of our project was to use long-term pedigree and high-throughput genomic information information available on the birds of Tiritiri Matangi to evaluate the evolutionary constraints weighting on the population, as well as its adaptive potential, especially in regards to climate change.
2012-2016: PhD project
Supervisors: Oscar E. Gaggiotti & Irène Till-Bottraud
My PhD project focused on the study of local adaptation in the Alpine plant Arabis alpina. We were aiming at uncovering local adaptation signals in wild populations along an altitudinal gradient and uncovering the genetic architecture of the phenotypic traits involved. I also did a lot of methodological development regarding the tools to study local adaptation (genome scans of selection, common gardens, etc.).
Older research
My past research includes previous methodological work on (i) phylogenetic comparative methods to incorporate phylogenetic uncertainty and intra-specific variability, and (ii) comparison of methods to estimate the heritability depending on the nature of the phenotypic trait (Normal Vs Binary) and on different natures of confounding effects.
Regarding this last work, I published a tutorial on how to estimate the heritability, using the MCMCglmm package on R.
