Locusta Swarm_Spurgin

Headed by
Greg Sword, research in the Molecular Ecology Lab ranges from molecular genetics and behaviour to landscape scale ecology and phylogenetics. We utilise a variety of ecological, behavioral, and molecular techniques to examine processes operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Our work addresses a variety of major topics in ecology and evolution including migration, collective movement, phenotypic plasticity, the evolution of warning coloration (aposematism) and plant-herbivore interactions.

Please see the Research and Publications pages for more detailed information about the lab's activities.

Recent Highlights

Two new postdocs, Donya Tohidi-Esfahani and Karine Berthier, have recently joined the lab!

See the archived
news items.



Here's a Mormon cricket migratory band in action.
It doesn't get much cooler than this:






***Thanks to Peter Spurgin of the APLC for the use of his Locusta migratoria swarm photo.