99th ESA Annual Meeting (August 10 -- 15, 2014)

OOS 10

Ecological Genomics As an Emerging Field: Opportunities for Non-Model Organisms

Since the introduction of molecular tools to the field of ecology some three decades ago, genetic approaches have been widely used to address questions related to kinship, migration, dispersal, population biology, local adaptation and phylogeographic patterns. With the recent advances in sequencing technologies, this research has developed into a new and promising sub discipline called ecological genomics. This field uses next-generation sequencing to explore the relationships between genotypic and phenotypic variation and between this variation and fitness in varying environments. Most recently, population level studies have become possible for both model and non-model organisms. We are increasingly able to dissect genetic basis of adaptations to various conditions and test how the genetic variation changes and shapes phenotypes as a result of ecological and evolutionary processes. Accordingly, this session will be devoted to recent studies in ecological genomics field using ecologically interesting non-model organisms from oceans to mountains. With a broad range of well-established scientists working on various organisms, this session will cover how genomes of various organisms, populations and communities change with environmental variation, and how these changes are reflected in organisms’ trait variation.