Courtney E. Gorman
My research in the Ecology group focused on the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of the early stages of plant mating system transitions from being unable to self-fertilize to being able to self-fertilize.
I set up a large-scale common garden experiment in Canada to test whether plants that have recently evolved the ability to self-fertilize are reproductively isolated from their ancestors that maintained an inability to self-fertilize. I examined whether these groups were reproductively isolated via pre-pollination mechanisms such as pollinator preference or post-pollination mechanisms like inherent incompatibilities. Additionally, I investigated whether these groups differed in life history traits (e.g. overwinter survival). This work resulted in four publications which are linked below:
Publications
Steinecke C, Gorman CE, Stift M & Dorken ME (2022) Outcrossing rates in an experimentally admixed population of self-compatible anad self-incompatible Arbidopsis lyrata. Heredity 128:56-62 (DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00489-8 )
Gorman CE, Li Y, Dorken ME & Stift M (2021) No evidence for incipient speciation by selfing in North American Arabidopsis lyrata. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 34:1397-1405 (DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13901 )
Gorman CE, Steinecke C, van Kleunen M, Dorken ME & Stift M (2020) A shift towards the annual habit in selfing Arabidopsis lyrata. Biology Letters 16:20200402. (DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0402)
Gorman CE, Bond L, van Kleunen M, Dorken ME & Stift M (2020) Limited phenological and pollinator-mediated isolation among selfing and outcrossing Arabidopsis lyrata populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287:20202323 (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2323 )
(Update:27.02.2023)