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Speciation rates vary tremendously among evolutionary lineages but our understanding of the genomic architecture facilitating very rapid speciation remains incomplete.

The fastest sustained rates of vertebrate speciation are known from Lake Victoria, where hundreds of cichlid fish species have evolved in less than 15,000 years.

Here, we identify the major evolutionary forces driving the exceptionally rapid and diverse adaptive radiation of Lake Victoria cichlid fish by reconstructing their evolutionary history from whole genomes of over one hundred species.

Matthew McGee's lab uses whole genomic sequencing, comparative phylogenetic methods, and functional experiments to study the factors governing speciation, adaptation, and extinction, with an emphasis on fishes. Prior to starting his lab at Monash University, Matthew received his PhD at the University of California Davis, then obtained a postdoc with Ole Seehausen at University of Bern.

Institute for Applied Ecology Seminar Series