Eco-evolutionary dynamics of parallel climate-driven range shifts in the wild

Range shifts are critical to species' persistence under climate change and are happening across the globe. Recent work has shown
that rapid evolution is a key driver of range expansion, prompting urgent calls to improve our understanding of eco-evolutionary
dynamics in real-world range shifts. I will address this knowledge gap by applying my expertise in evolution during replicate invasions
in the lab to insect responses to climate change in the field. Modelling and landscape genetic tools have recently been developed by
my proposed supervisors and collaborators to account for complex genetic processes uniquely associated with rapid demographic
and spatial expansion. With this combined expertise, we will conduct the first rigorous exploration of range shift evolutionary
processes and their repeatability along four parallel field transects in a rapidly poleward-expanding European insect (the damselfly
Ischnura elegans). My objectives are to (1) characterise clinal variation in dispersal phenotypes, fecundity, and climate adaptation in
the field, (2) evaluate the repeatability of genomic changes in adaptive, neutral and deleterious variation, and (3) determine how
these phenotypic and genotypic characteristics influence the rate and outcome of range expansions using a cutting-edge individual
based model. The results will (a) inform biodiversity management and blue-green infrastructure planning, and (b) fundamentally
advance our understanding of the repeatability and predictability of eco-evolutionary dynamics, and the contribution of neutral,
adaptive, or deleterious evolutionary processes during warming-induced range shifts. This research and host collaborative network
will further establish me at the centre of major research hubs in range shift ecology and evolution, and will provide me with key skills
and opportunities in leadership, project management, mentoring, and outreach to ensure my independence as a future group leader
in Europe.