Dr. Martin Fischer

Research area

Monitoring genetic diversity

 One of my scientific interests is to understand changes in genetic diversity over time in species from all major taxonomic groups, using state-of-the art genomics approaches to investigate contemporary genetic variation and compare these to historic levels of variation using a retrospective analysis of herbarium and museums samples. Relate observed changes in genetic diversity to changes in land use, habitat fragmentation and other anthropogenic factors and infer the consequences of changes in genetic diversity for organismal responses to climate change. The overarching aim is to build up a long-term genetic diversity monitoring program for Switzerland, as a first step towards the conservation and sustainable use of genetic diversity. See: www.gendiv.ethz.ch

Genomic insights into the evolutionary history of the arctic-alpine Silene acaulis species complex

 My plant model systems is the moss campion (Silene acaulis) species complex, which is occurring either at extreme Northern latitudes or at high elevations (>2,000 m a.s.l.) and the different evolutionary lineages or species differ in sexual system - ranging from gynodiocy to trioecy and dioecy - as well as edaphic adaption and morphological variations.

Adaptation genomics

 Furthermore, I am interested in understanding the genomic structure of adaptation and convergent adaptation by working with different wild Brassicaceae species, with a particular focus on A. halleri as well as Arabis alpina and Cardamine resedifolia.

 Therefore, my general scientific interest is focused on the genomic basis of adaptation, early stage of speciation, sex chromosome evolution, bioinformatics and conservation genetics. I am interested in how we can mainatian genetic diverstiy, but  also how genomic diversity evolves as a consequence of biotic and abiotic factors, such as the highly heterogeneous and changing environmental conditions observed in Alpine habitats. My work thus bridges the gaps between empirical, experimental, theoretical, and computational conservation biology.