The Impact of Structural Variation on Local Adaptation and Parallel Evolution in Zostera marina With my dissertation research, I aim to contribute to our understanding of how genomic structural variation contributes to eco-evolutionary processes. In particular, I am working to understand how a large chromosomal inversion in eelgrass impacts how eelgrass populations adapt to their local environmental conditions. Through field collections, tank experiements and multuple forms of sequencing, I aim to indentify the function of the inversion and uncover how it contributes to local adaptation. I will also compare how the inversion impacts the level of parallelism across California bays that share similar environmental gradients.
In a collaborative project between myself, James Michelini and Natasha Dhamrait, I am studying how a cosmopolitan butterfly, Pipevine Swallowtail, adapts to urban environments across its California range.
I worked in the lab of Cathy McFadden at Harvey Mudd College during my undergraduate, through summer research internships and for my senior thesis, as well as after I graudated, as a laboratory technician. I applied genetic and genomic tools to map the biogeography of octocorals and understand the taxonomy of this underdescribed clade.
The following publications have resulted from this work:
Catherine S. McFadden, Katie L. Erickson ... Yuha Benayahu (2025). Biodiversity and biogeography of zooxanthellate soft corals across the Indo-Pacific. Scientific Reports.
Matthew P. Galaska, Guangpeng Li, Destiny West, Katie L. Erickson, Andrea M. Quattrini, Annalisa Bracco and Santiago Herrera (2021). Seascape Genomics Reveals Metapopulation Connectivity Network of Paramuricea biscaya in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science.
Katie L. Erickson, Alicia Pentico, Andrea M. Quattrini and Catherine S. McFadden (2020). New approaches to species delimitation and population structure of anthozoans: Two case studies of octocorals using ultraconserved elements and exons. Molecular Ecology Resources.