Why are pests so successful? The evolutionary ecology of population establishment and spread.

Crop pests and diseases are one of the major challenges facing science and society. Yet, from an evolutionary perspective, pests can be viewed as "success stories" - organisms that show a remarkable ability to adapt and spread, often in ecologically challenging environments. If we are to protect our crops as the earth's climate changes, understanding how pests establish in new environments is essential.
This project will test exciting new theory about how pest populations established from a small number of individuals adapt and spread in challenging environments. Experimental populations of beetles will be used to measure "evolution in action" - directly quantifying rates of evolutionary adaptation and ecological dynamics in newly founded pest populations. In doing so, the student will identify how and why some introduced pest populations successfully establish, while others go extinct.
There will be broad training in evolutionary ecology and population genetics. Further, a range of state-of-the-art techniques will be used enabling the development of an impressive set of skills, including experimental design, animal husbandry, next generation sequencing, bioinformatics and statistics. As such, the project offers an outstanding opportunity to address a fundamental scientific question of high societal importance, while at the same time providing the opportunity to gain invaluable skills.