Andrew Simons Lab
Plant life-history evolution
My students and I focus on how organisms respond and adapt to changing environments. We use a variety of organisms both in the field and under controlled environments to address fundamental questions about the evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity and bet-hedging traits under fluctuating environments.
Especially useful as model organisms are monocarpic (i.e. reproduce once per lifetime) plants, such as Lobelia inflata, and plants with rapid generation times such as Spirodela polyrhiza, a member of the duckweed subfamily (Lemnoideae), which are the smallest flowering plants on the planet. Although we mostly work with plants, we regularly use other organisms such as the fungi Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for studies in experimental evolution.
Research opportunities
If you are interested in evolutionary ecology and would like to join the lab, please contact me! I am accepting applications for M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies in evolutionary ecology.
Andrew M. Simons, Department of Biology, 杏吧原创 University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, +1-613-520-2600 x3869, andrew_simons@carleton.ca