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Research Interests
As an evolutionary ecologist, Dr. Dybdahl's research
focuses on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of sexual
and asexual modes of reproduction. This research has included the
analysis of natural populations, laboratory experiments, and
molecular and quantitative genetic techniques in marine and
freshwater invertebrates. Past research questions include
host-parasite interactions and coevolution, the evolution of sexual
reproduction, the evolution of life history traits, and the
evolutionary ecology of invasive species. Current research
relates to two broad themes:
1) Coevolution between parasites and their hosts, as a
process that can prevent clonal expansion and favor the evolution
of sexual reproduction, according to the "Red Queen"
hypothesis.
2) The ecological and evolutionary advantages of
asexual reproduction, including plasticity and adaptation of traits
that affect the ability of clonal populations to invade new
habitats and biological communities.
The main subjects of current research are a New Zealand
freshwater snail that has both sexual and asexual reproductive
modes, and the trematode parasites in its native range. The
research also incorporates introduced populations of these snails
worldwide and in the western U.S., focusing on Yellowstone National
Park.
Representative Publications
Dybdahl, M.F., J. Jokela, L. Delph, B. Koskella, and C.M. Lively. 2008. Hybrid fitness in a locally adapted parasite. American Naturalist In Press
Riley*, L.A., M.F. Dybdahl and B.O. Hall. 2008. Invasive species impact: asymmetric interactions between invasive and endemic freshwater snails. Journal of the North American Benthological Society in press
Gomulkiewicz, R., D. Drown*, M.F. Dybdahl, W. Godsoe, S.L. Nuismer, K.M. Pepin, B. Ridenhour, C.I Smith, and J.B. Yoder. 2007. The do's and don'ts of testing the Geographic Mosaic Theory of coevolution. Heredity 98:249-258
Fromme*, A. and M.F. Dybdahl. 2006. Resistance in introduced populations of a freshwater snail to native range parasites. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 19:1948-1955
Dybdahl, M.F. and S.L. Kane. 2005. Adaptation versus phenotypic plasticity in the success of a clonal invader. Ecology. 86:1592-1601
Dybdahl, M.F. and A.C. Krist. 2004. Genotypic vs. condition effects on parasite-driven rare advantage. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 17:967-973
Dybdahl, M.F. and A. Storfer. 2003 Parasite Local Adaptation: Red Queen versus Suicide King. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 18:523-530
Lively, C.M.and M.F. Dybdahl. 2000. Parasite adaptation to locally common host genotypes. Nature 405:679-681.
Dybdahl, M.F. and C.M. Lively. 1998. Host-parasite interactions: evidence for a rare advantage and time-lagged selection in a natural population. Evolution 52:1057-1066.
Dybdahl, M.F. and C.M. Lively. 1996. The geography of coevolution: comparative population structures for a snail and its trematode parasite. Evolution 50:2264-2275.
Dybdahl, M.F. 1995. Selection on life-history traits across a wave exposure gradient in the tidepool copepod Tigriopus californicus. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 192:195-210
Dybdahl, M.F. 1994. Extinction, recolonization, and the genetic structure of tidepool copepods. Evolutionary Ecology 8:113-124
* WSU graduate student author