Victor Successfully defended his thesis on July 21, 2020! Entitled “Mountain Pine Beetle Dispersal: Morphology, genetics, and range expansion”, his thesis work explores the factors that influence how MPB spreads eastward across Canada.
Victor showed that strong fliers exhibit different morphology, express genes differently, and show differences in SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) associated with flight capacity than weak flying beetles. This research also shows that in Alberta, MPB is spreading most rapidly eastward from the northern source population while interbreeding with other source populations as they spread. Victor’s work is unique in that it combines morphological data with both DNA and genetic expression data, creating a multi-faceted approach to explore dispersal in a robust and integrated way.
Congratulations Victor, and we look forward to your future research!
The Sperling Lab 