Christopher G. Eckert, Queen’s University
Department of Biology
Professor
Kingston, Ontario
chris.eckert@queensu.ca
Office:
(613) 533-6158
Bio/Research
The research in my lab investigates two major evolutionary trends in flowering plants: the evolution of self-fertilization and the evolution of asexuality. We also have a strong interest in the genetic & ecological consequences of colonization as well as the evolution of geographical range limits...
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Bio/Research
The research in my lab investigates two major evolutionary trends in flowering plants: the evolution of self-fertilization and the evolution of asexuality. We also have a strong interest in the genetic & ecological consequences of colonization as well as the evolution of geographical range limits. These interests dovetail with conservation research on invasive and endangered species. We use a combination of large-scale geographical populations surveys, manipulative experiments in natural populations, DNA and protein marker-gene analysis of reproductive patterns & genetic structure, plus a variety of lab-based tools, including quantitative genetics, developmental analyses, image analysis, and computer modeling. Our field work takes place in a variety of locations across North America and Europe. Currently, we have projects on the coevolution of geographic range limits and the mating system based on the pacific coast of North America, a large-scale analysis of adaptive evolution during biological invasion based in Europe and eastern North America, and a phylogeographic study of plants that occur as disjunct populations on critically-imperiled alvar habitat in the Great Lakes region.
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