What processes lead to the origin and maintenance of biological diversity both within and between species?
This is one of the major recurring questions in biology and is the question that structures my work.
My research connects population genomics, the ecology of species interactions, and mathematical and statistical modeling to shed light on ecological and evolutionary processes. I believe progress in this area requires facility with mathematical abstractions of general principles and intimate knowledge of the natural history of real systems.
Currently, I am the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Biorepository Project Manager at the Arizona State University Biocollections and Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center. My role is to tackle a unique opportunity to conduct and facilitate research that leverages a continental scale, long-term biological collection to answer questions about ecology and evolution in a changing world.
As a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Gideon Bradburd in the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University, my research broadly centered on how ecological factors, such as species interactions, contribute to population genomic structure across spatial scales. Throughout my PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with Dr. Judie Bronstein at the University of Arizona, I studied the ecological mechanisms contributing to host-associated genetic differentiation in desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum), a parasitic plant native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. My dissertation integrated field experiments and observations, theory, and population genomics to gain insights into the ecology and evolution of this non-model system. In general, I aim to understand the biotic drivers of statiotemporal patterns in genomic variation and their consequences for evolution in a changing world.
Kelsey M. Yule, PhD 