This is a natural extension of phylogeography, which allows us to understand not only the patterns of genetic variation across seascapes, but also the drivers. Here we use next generation sequencing approaches to identify both neutral SNPs and those putatively under selection that can help us disentangle the relative contributions of neutral genetic versus local adaptation processes. By looking for correlates between structure, outlier SNPs and a variety of environmental variables, we can tease apart which factors influence signals of local adaptation in marine populations. This makes it possible to assess potential impacts of climate change on the evolutionary resilience of marine species.
 
Selected key papers:

• Nielsen ES, Henriques R, Beger M, von der Heyden S. (2021) Neither historical climate nor contemporary range fully explain extant patterns of molecular diversity in marine species. Journal of Biogeography 48: 2629-2644
  
• Nielsen ES, Henriques R, Beger M, von der Heyden S. (2021) Distinct inter- and intra-specific vulnerability of coastal species to global change. Global Change Biology 27: 3415-3431
• Nielsen ES, Henriques R, Beger M, Toonen RJ, von der Heyden S. (2020) Multi-model seascape genomics identifies distinct drivers of selection among sympatric marine species. ​BMC Evolutionary Biology 20: 121
• Nielsen ES, Henriques R, Toonen RJ, Knapp I, Guo B, von der Heyden S. (2018) Complex signatures of genomic variation of two non-model marine species in a homogeneous environment. BMC Genomics, 19: 347
• Selkoe KA, D’Aloia CC, Crandall ED, Iacchei M, Liggins L, Puritz JB, von der Heyden S, Toonen RJ. (2016) A decade of seascape genetics: contributions to basic and applied marine connectivity. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 554: 1-19
• Henriques R, von der Heyden S, Lipinksi MR, du Toit N, Kainge P, Bloomer P, Matthee CA. (2016) Spatio-temporal genetic structure and the effects of long-term fishing in two partially sympatric offshore demersal fishes. ​Molecular Ecology 25: 5843-5861