Eva Wahl, BSc

Room 518
eva.wahl@student.uibk.ac.at

I’m highly interested in aquatic ecosystems, their organisms, and how these react in response to environmental change. In my master-thesis project, I study the effects of trophic change on water flea populations of the Daphnia longispina species complex in peri-Alpine lakes. In the so called D. lgc complex, hybridization commonly occurs. For example, during a eutrophication period, Daphnia galeata has invaded most peri-Alpine lakes. This non-native species, which is better adapted to eutrophic conditions, has hybridized with and partly replaced the native species D. longispina. After lake renaturation and re-oligotrophication, D. longispina, which is better adapted to oligotrophic conditions, has increased its population again. To investigate the genomic effects of these trophic changes, I will compare the Daphnia longispina genome before (from ancient populations) and after the eutrophication event (from recent populations). Therefore, I use resting eggs, which can be found in lake sediment cores. Gaining insight into species boundaries, as well as gene flow induced by environmental changes, I will implement whole-genome resequencing and subsequent bioinformatic analyses in my work.

Research topics
Population genetics and genomics
Speciation and gene flow