Prof Susan Foster
Local Co-ordinator
Contact
Email: Susan Foster
Phone: +1 508 793 7204
Biosketch
Susan Foster is a Professor of Biology at Clark University, USA. Foster obtained a BS at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD at the University of Washington, Seattle. The Foster group studies the postglacial adaptive radiation of the three-spine stickleback fish. Since the last glacial maximum, the diminutive three-spine stickleback has undergone a remarkable adaptive radiation in freshwater lakes and streams in holarctic coastal regions. Freshwater populations, derived from the ancient marine three-spine stickleback, have evolved very rapidly in morphology, behavior and life history since invasion of the freshwater habitats created by glacial recession. The Foster group takes advantage of this diversity to understand how evolution occurs and to ask whether these classes of characters evolve in concert. Research includes both field study in Alaska and Canada, and laboratory rearing studies that contribute to our understanding of the interface between plasticity and selection over the course of evolution.