Female phenotypic variation and intersexual mimicry as a bridge between micro- and macroevolution

Here, I will investigate the micro- and macroevolutionary dynamics of phenotypic variation and its effects on intra- and intersexual divergence and phenotypic diversification. Phenotypic polymorphisms are when two or more discrete and heritable forms (morphs) co-occur within a species.

Masculinized (male-like) female morphs that co-occur with female morphs differing from males are being discovered in an increasing number of animals.

The genomic and developmental basis of such morphs and the mechanisms maintaining polymorphisms are fundamental problems in evolutionary biology.

I will use a well-characterized insect system (colour polymorphic damselflies) to investigate how female morphs are maintained and how frequency-dependent sexual conflict and intersexual mimicry shape micro- and macroevolutionary dynamics of polymorphisms across temporal scales.

Combining time-series analyses of long-term population data with Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, I will quantify phenotypic variation, selection and evolutionary dynamics. This will be complemented with Citizen Science data, genomics, bioinformatics and phylogenetic comparative methods.

I will clarify how negative frequency-dependent selection unfolds within species and how selection interacts with hybridization and introgression on macroevolutionary time scales.

This unique and highly integrative project at the interface between ecology, genomics and evolution has high potential to generate new scientific breakthroughs.