Adaptive introgression in the Anthropocene We are looking for a 3 year postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) to work on a NERC-funded project "Adaptive introgression in the Anthropocene" led by Kanchon Dasmahapatra at the University of York. The main aim of the project is to understand the prevalence and impact of gene flow between native and non-native flowering plant species in the British Isles making use of newly generated genome assemblies and large whole genome resequence datasets. Human translocation of species and anthropogenic climate change are resulting in some of the fastest rates of species distribution changes ever seen, causing many native and non-native species to be brought together. While the ecological consequences are often well-documented, the evolutionary impacts of hybridization and gene flow between native and non-native species are usually less visible. In this ambitious project we will leverage reference genomes produced by the Darwin Tree of Life project and combine high-throughput sequencing with the latest bioinformatic methods to address a major question of growing importance: What is the extent of gene flow between native and non-native flowering plant species, and is this gene flow of adaptive value to native or non-native species? These data will be used to parameterise models predicting the rate of gene flow between native and non-native species, and test model estimates of cryptic gene flow among species pairs that have not been observed to hybridize. The British flora is intensively studied, and its well characterised distributions, hybrids and ecology make it an ideal model system to build predictive models exploring ecological and genetics factors affecting the rates and effects of gene flow between native and non-native species. The PDRA will be based in York at the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity (https://www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene-biodiversity/), and be supervised by Kanchon Dasmahapatra (http://www.york.ac.uk/res/dasmahapatra/ ). Project co-investigators and partners: Alex Twyford and Simon Martin (University of Edinburgh), Pete Hollingsworth and Markus Ruhsam (Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh), Chris Thomas (University of York), Mark Blaxter (Wellcome Sanger Institute), Kevin Walker (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland). Closing date: 15th May 2024. Start Date: 1st August 2024 (negotiable). For informal enquiries email kanchon.dasmahapatra@york.ac.uk. To apply click the "Apply now" button at the bottom of the University of York job advertisement: https://jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/research-associate-in-evolutionary-biology-556527.html Prof Kanchon Dasmahapatra (kanchon.dasmahapatra@york.ac.uk) Professor of Evolutionary Biology Director of Postgraduate Research (Biology) Department of Biology University of York York YO10 5DD Tel: +44 (0)1904 328635 New publications : Rosser N, Seixas F, Queste LM, Cama B .... Dasmahapatra KK (2024) Hybrid speciation driven by multilocus introgression of ecological traits. *Nature *https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07263-w Page E, Queste LM, Rosser N, Salazar PA, Nadeau NJ, Mallet J, Srygley R, McMillan WO Dasmahapatra KK (2024) Pervasive mimicry in flight behavior among aposematic butterflies. *PNAS *121 (11) e2300886121 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2300886121 I choose to work flexibly and send emails outside normal office hours, but I do not expect you to respond outside your working hours. Prof Kanchon Dasmahapatra Professor of Evolutionary Biology Director of Postgraduate Research (Biology) Department of Biology University of York York YO10 5DD Tel: +44 (0)1904 328635 http://www.york.ac.uk/res/dasmahapatra/ Kanchon Dasmahapatra (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)