Evolution and demography team

The Evolution and demography team is interested in the interactions between evolution and population dynamics. We study how these interactions affect the evolution of life-history traits (dispersal, age at first reproduction, survival) and of traits involved in the reproductive biology of organisms (selfing, phenology, floral traits). Understanding how the evolution of these traits shape the dynamics and structure of populations, and in return how the latter shape the evolution of these traits, help to understand the evolution of reproductive systems, species ranges, or when evolution can prevent extinction. Our research informs applied questions about the management of resistance evolution, adaptation to global changes and conservation biology. These questions are explored through the development of theoretical models, inference methods from demographic and/or genetic data, experimental evolution and long-term surveys of natural populations. Our main study organisms are various species of flowering plants and microorganisms.