Simone Des Roches, PhD
Research Scientist | Illustrator
I study evolutionary ecology...
and
human society
Wetland Ecosystem Team
School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
College of the Environment
University of Washington, Seattle
@DrSimoneDr
contact me
intraspecific variation | eco-evo dynamics | rapid adaptation | global change | conservation
evolutionary ecology and
Human Society
working with
community scientists
city planners & managers
NGOs & government agencies
We cannot study ecology and evolution in the Anthropocene without including the influence of human society - how we as humans affect eco-evolutionary processes through habitat change, harvest, and movement of organisms, and how those processes feed back toward us through nature's contributions to people.
Relationships among human society, ecology, and evolution are especially important in urban ecosystems, which are quintessentially built by and for our species - a highly social and omnipresent ecosystem engineer. As such, evolutionary ecology, conservation, and restoration in urban ecosystems must involve novel approaches that integrate humans and our society.
I believe as scientists we must engage with the people who are a key part of the ecosystems we study. I take an multi-faceted approach to studying urban eco-evo; first, working with the Urban Ecology and Evolution Network to understand the functioning of urban ecosystems by and with human society, and second, working with the Wetland Ecosystem Team to study Puget Sound shoreline restoration with community ("citizen") scientists. For the latter, I work with volunteer-collected data coordinated by local agencies and NGOs. Our website is a repository for these data and a place for contributors and others to view the results of restoration and monitoring efforts.
View my presentation on the importance of shoreline restoration for the Burien Environmental Science Center!
Related publications:
Des Roches et al 2021 Nature Ecology & Evolution; Des Roches et al 2020 Evolutionary Applications; Schell et al 2020 Science; Alberti et al 2020 Bioscience
I acknowledge that this work is carried out on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples.
evolutionary ecology with
Climate Change
working with
natural history museums
spatial & weather data
Our planet is facing unprecedented climate change and its species are experiencing novel, and sometimes dramatic, shifts in their surrounding habitats. I study if and how species adapt to these habitat shifts using a combination of historical museum collections, long term weather and spatial habitat data.
I explore the relationship among climate change, habitat, and intraspecific trait variation using Threespine Stickleback in Californian bar-built estuaries. My work shows that stickleback armour (a heritable trait), which is strongly associated with a latitudinal climate gradient, has also changed over the last 100 years.
Using "space-for-time" substitutions, I discovered that this shift in armour is likely due to stickleback adapting to estuaries with less water flow and more vegetation caused by drier and hotter weather.
Related publications:
Stuble et al. 2021 BioScience; Des Roches et al 2020 Global Change Biology; Wasserman et al 2020 Oikos
I acknowledge that this work was carried out on the unceded land of the Salinan, Esselen, Ohlone, Coast Miwok, Pomo, Coast Yuki, Sinkyone, Mattole, Bear River, and Yurok Peoples.
Studying how multiple species adapt to the same novel environmental conditions can teach us a lot about the repeatability of evolution. Yet, studying the ecological dissimilarities among these species can also reveal how they experience the very same conditions in drastically different ways - sometimes as a result of interactions among them.
The geologically unique dunes of White Sands, New Mexico are home to three lizard species that independently evolved "blanched" colouration after colonizing < 6000 years ago. I examine how these lizards differ ecologically (what they eat, how they escape from predators) from one another and from their darker counterparts living off the dunes.
I also study intraspecific variation in colour and anatomical traits in two species at the White Sands ecotone - how natural selection acts on these traits in different ways as a result of their demography and ecology.
View an interview with the White Sands National Park about my PhD work on lizard evolution!
Related publications:
Des Roches et al 2017 Molec Ecol; Des Roches et al 2016 Oikos; Des Roches et al 2015 Evol Ecol; Des Roches et al 2014 BJLS; Des Roches et al 2011 Ecol & Evol
I acknowledge that this work was carried out on the unceded land of the Apache Peoples.
evolutionary ecology in
Novel Habitats
working with
national parks
a huge team of undergrads
I am committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability. I aim to adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which explain how to make Web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines will help make the web more user friendly to everyone. I am continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.
If you have any comments and or suggestions relating to improving the accessibility of my site, please don't hesitate to contact me.