Welcome to the Funk Lab We strive to understand the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that generate and maintain biological diversity using population genomics, experimental manipulations, and field studies. Our goal is to not only test basic evolutionary and ecological theory, but also directly inform policy and management decisions that will ultimately determine the fate of biodiversity.
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Chris Funk, Margaret Byrne, Sally Aitken, Fred Allendorf, and Gordon Luikart, July 2019, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
Fred Allendorf, Sally Aitken, Margaret Byrne, Gordon Luikart, and Chris submitted the complete manuscript for Conservation and the Genomics of Populations, 3rd edition, to Oxford University Press for publication! This “dream team” of conservation […]
Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) (Photo: Chris Funk)
Although gene flow may limit adaptation, it can also rescue small, inbred populations. Sarah Fitzpatrick–former Funk lab PhD student and current Assistant Professor at Michigan State University–led our paper just out in Current Biology documenting genetic rescue in wild populations of Trinidadian guppies. Combining wild […]
Hypothetical scenario of a fragmented species that would likely benefit from gene flow augmentation (A) in which a species from a previously continuous distribution (outlined in grey) now exists in isolated populations (black circles) along an environmental gradient. Several small populations outlined by red dashes have already gone extinct. Extant populations range […]
Genome sizes for different orders of amphibians. Y-axis is on a natural log scale and reports C-values in picograms (pg), where 1 pg = 978 megabases of DNA sequence.
Kelly Zamudio, Andrew Crawford, and Chris’ book chapter on the application of new genomic approaches for advancing understanding of the evolution, ecology, and […]
Rocky Mountain tailed frog (Ascaphus montanus). Photo credit: Brenna Forester
We are elated to announce that NSF funded our “Rules of Life” EAGER grant entitled “Landscape Phenomics: Predicting vulnerability to climate change by linking environmental heterogeneity to genetic and phenotypic variation.” The overarching goal of our project is to predict which populations […]
Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) in amplexus (mating embrace) with egg clutch visible. Photo credit: W. Chris Funk
Our paper on the comparative landscape genetics of Oregon spotted frogs and Columbia spotted frogs in Oregon and Idaho has been published in Molecular Ecology! Our main finding was that species traits matter for […]
We had another productive retreat at the CSU Mountain Campus to work on our NSF EEID puma disease project (aka, the “Felidae” project). Current Funk Lab members working on this project include Daryl Trumbo and Chris Funk. Read more about the project here. […]
Chris, Brenna Forester, and colleagues published a new paper on integrating adaptive potential into U.S. Endangered Species Act listing and recovery decisions. Rapid environmental change means that populations will often have to adapt, or go extinct. Characterizing adaptive potential using traditional approaches such as reciprocal transplant experiments, however, is often impossible for endangered species. […]
Island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis). Photo credit: Katie Langin
NSF has funded our collaborative research project aimed at understanding the mechanisms causing fine-scale adaptation in the face of ongoing gene flow in island scrub-jays. Growing evidence suggests that adaptive evolution can occur over small spatial distances. How this fine-scale adaptation arises and is […]
Boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas). Photo credit: Wendy Lanier and Brittany Mosher
Harry Crockett (Colorado Parks and Wildlife [CPW]), Larissa Bailey (CSU Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology), and Chris received a grant from CPW to study the conservation genomics of the Southern Rocky Mountain (SRM) boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas) group, which […]
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Contact Department of Biology
Colorado State University
1878 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878
Tel: 970-491-3289
E-mail: Chris.Funk@colostate.edu
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