Department of Ecology

MÖST Markus Dr.

I am broadly interested in various aspects of biology with a strong emphasis on the interplay of evolutionary and ecological processes. Most of my past research has focussed on how populations and species adapt to their biotic and abiotic environments, in particular under scenarios involving gene flow and changing environmental conditions. Using the tropical radiation of Heliconius butterflies and species complexes in the water flea genus Daphnia as study systems, I am trying to understand the processes of ecological adaptation and speciation in the face of gene flow.

My current research is now investigating the consequences of admixture, for example, in the aquatic keystone grazer Daphnia, on eco-evolutionary dynamics in the context of global change on the population, species, community and ecosystem level. To achieve this goal, I am employing a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, ranging from classical limnological field work and sedimentology, over lab and mesocosm experiments to whole-genome sequencing and population genomics. For further details on my research, please follow the link to my publications below or just contact me directly.

Short CV:

2022- :             FWF START Fellow, Univ. of Innsbruck, Austria
2016-2022:     Senior Postdoc/ Research Assistant, Molecular Ecology Group, Univ. of Innsbruck
2014-2016:     Postdoc (FWF, SNF), Butterfly Genetics Group, Univ. of Cambridge, UK
2009-2014:     PhD Thesis, Aquatic Ecology, Eawag and ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2009:               Lab and Field Assistant, Limnology, Uppsala University, Sweden
2008:               Master’s Thesis in Zoology, Univ. of Innsbruck, Austria   

Current Projects:

2022 – 2028:   FWF START Prize (Y 1442) ‘Eco-evolutionary dynamics - admixture and global change’, 3+3 years, FWF Austrian Science Fund, Austria

2022 – 2023:   EU Interreg Project ‘SeeWandel-Covid’ (ABH109), EU Interreg Alpenrhein Bodensee Hochrhein

2018 – 2023:   EU Interreg Project ‘SeeWandel: Life in Lake Constance - the past, present and future’ (ABH060), EU Interreg Alpenrhein Bodensee Hochrhein

2017 – 2022:   FWF stand-alone project (P 29667) ‘Genome-wide gene flow in the Daphnia longispina complex’, FWF Austrian Science Fund, Austria

Research Topics

• Admixture
• Eco-evolutionary dynamics
• Anthropogenic change
• Speciation and gene flow
• Ecological speciation
• Adaptation
  

Publications

Complete List of Publications