Dr. Jason Addison

Biography

Jason Addison is a professor and the departmental chair at the University of New Brunswick, specializing in ecology, evolutionary biology, and genetics/genomics. His research is focused on the origin of new species, a central and elusive question in evolutionary biology. He studies genetic divergence and speciation, particularly in aquatic environments where barriers to genetic exchange play a crucial role in allowing divergence to occur. His lab employs a multi-species approach to compare patterns of population genetic structure in relation to life history variation and biogeographic history, aiming to identify features that promote or hinder the evolution of reproductive isolation among species. Addison uses frequency-based and coalescent-based analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to draw inferences about historical demography, population growth histories, and gene flow patterns among aquatic organisms. His current projects include population genetics of marine amphipods in the Bay of Fundy and the study of freshwater insects in Atlantic Canada. He also investigates the mechanisms that drive reproductive isolation among closely related species, particularly focusing on Strongylocentrotus sea urchins. Addison employs various molecular techniques to assess diversity and characterize genetic interactions within sympatric species, aiming to test predictions from allopatric and sympatric models of speciation.

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Experience

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