The importance of egg size for phenotypic variation and divergence in wild populations

(2014-2018) funded by Icelandic Research Fund RANNÍS

Principal Investigator: Camille Leblanc

How egg size can affect offspring performance and diversification among wild populations ?

1. Does egg size contribute to adaptive divergence of populations?
2. And to what extent do maternal effects interact with gene expression in embryos and juveniles?

We quantify variation in egg size and egg number, among and within replicated Arctic charr populations that differ in their degree of divergence. We combine diet manipulation experiments with cutting edge molecular genetic tools to test for the interactions between egg size and offspring environment, and between egg size and gene expression.
 

​Collaborators:
Pr. Zophonias Jónsson, University of Iceland
Pr. Bjarni K. Krisjánsson, HU
Dr. Katja Räsänen, EAWAG
Pr. Skúli Skúlason, HU
 
Students: Samantha V. Beck (Ph.D. student- graduated in 2019), Louise Vernier (M.Sc.)