Adaptation and speciation in stickleback fish

Organisms across the world show unique adaptations that enable them to survive and flourish in distinct environments. Researchers at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory are studying stickleback fish to unravel the genetic changes which allow organisms to adapt and speciate in new environments. Marine sticklebacks have undergone an adaptive radiation with freshwater forms evolving repeatedly and independently at many different places. Using these powerful replicates of the evolutionary process, research is identifying the common molecular changes underlying adaptation and speciation.