GENETIC ADAPTATION

Many species experience changes in both their environment and in overall living conditions. How quickly are they able to adapt to these changes, and what are the factors that affect genetic change in a population? Scientists all over the world are joining forces to find answers to these questions, and the Department of Biology at NTNU is part of this group. A research team at NTNU, headed by population biologist Professor Bernt Erik Sæther, will focus on genetic material from moose, yellowhammer and a type of goldfish.

This is an interdisciplinary effort where biologists and mathematicians are cooperating to fit genetics into an ecological framework, and chart and “model” how genetic material changes over time. The project has received NOK 18 million from the Research Council of Norway.