Dr. Luis Fernando De León
Postdoctoral Researcher

Research in progress

So far, my research has mostly focused on how ecological changes influence evolution in natural populations. However, I am also interested in the opposite effect: how do evolutionary changes influence ecological dynamics? This interaction, known as eco-evolutionary dynamics, is the focus of my ongoing research project in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Hendry (McGill University) and Dr. Jeffrey Podos (University of Massachusetts). Specifically, we are performing long term field experiments to study how the community of Darwin's ground finches may be influencing the seed distributions and plant communities on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. Furthermore, I am also studying the temporal interaction between natural selection and assortative mating, and their relative contribution in advancing/preventing the initial stages of reproductive isolation in divergent populations of the medium ground finch (G. fortis). Finally, I am estimating the levels of gene flow and inter-specific hybridization among coexisting closely related species of granivorous finches. With these analyses, I hope to contribute to a better understanding of the specific mechanisms that influence evolutionary trajectories from the level of populations to communities and ecosystems. This work is based on a continues long-term data set initiated in 2002 which will be extended for several more years to come.

Two discreet beak size morphs within the medium Ground finch, G. fortis, on Santa Cruz Island.
My research suggests that these two morphs may be undergoing initial stages of divergence within a single island. (Photo credit: L. F. De León)

Summary of previous research | Research in progress | Future research