Jared Homola

Curriculum Vitae (click here)

I joined the Kinnison Lab (EvoApps Lab) in the fall of 2013. Before coming to Maine, I earned my M.Sc. in Biology at Grand Valley State University and a B.Sc. in Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. In my previous positions, my research focused on disease ecology and dispersal dynamics for various fish species around the Great Lakes basin.

For my dissertation research, I am interested in how environmental change caused by processes such as climate change and urbanization affects the likelihood of species and population persistence. My research uses genetic tools and simulation modeling to examine three mechanisms of adaptation: adaptive evolution, dispersal, and phenotypic plasticity.

The individual-based simulation model that I am developing evaluates the ability of evolutionary rescue to aid in the adaptation of a metapopulation structured species to broad and acute environmental changes. The model will be parameterized based on a concurrent landscape genetics study that I am conducting with wood frog and spotted salamander populations from throughout central and southern Maine. A subset of the wood frog populations will undergo RAD sequencing to evaluate evidence of local adaptation to urbanization-associated selection pressures. Finally, I am using RNASeq to test the hypothesis of a link between physiological stress and the presence of epizootic shell disease in American lobster populations.

To learn more about my research, visit my website.