The examination of genetic structure in the deep‐ocean hadal zone has focused on divergence between tectonic trenches to understand how environment and geography may drive species divergence and promote endemism. There has been little attempt to examine localized genetic structure within trenches, partly because of logistical challenges associated with sampling at an appropriate scale, and the large effective population sizes...

Our understanding of the ecology of the hadal zone (> 6000 m depth) is based solely on subduction trenches, leaving other geomorphological features, such as fracture zones, troughs, and basins, understudied. To address this knowledge gap, the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone, Indian Ocean (WZFZ; ~ 22°S, 102°E; maximum depth 6625 m measured during Expedition SO258) was studied using free-fall baited landers. We assessed the amphipo...

Planktonic stages of benthic octopuses can reach relatively large sizes in some species, usually in oceanic, epipelagic waters while living as part of the macroplankton. These young octopuses appear to delay settlement on the seabed for an undetermined period of time that is probably longer than for those octopus paralarvae living in coastal, neritic waters. The reason for this delay is unknown and existing information about t...

Landscape genomics promises to provide novel insights into how neutral and adaptive processes shape genome‐wide variation within and among populations. However, there has been little emphasis on examining whether individual‐based phenotype–genotype relationships derived from approaches such as genome‐wide association (GWAS) manifest themselves as a population‐level signature of selection in a landscape context. The two may pro...

Identifying the genetic architecture underlying complex phenotypes is a notoriously difficult problem that often impedes progress in understanding adaptive eco‐evolutionary processes in natural populations. Host–parasite interactions are fundamentally important drivers of evolutionary processes, but a lack of understanding of the genes involved in the host's response to chronic parasite insult makes it particularly difficult t...

Epigenetic modification of cytosine methylation states can be elicited by environmental stresses and may be a key process affecting phenotypic plasticity and adaptation. Parasites are potent stressors with profound physiological and ecological effects on their host, but there is little understanding in how parasites may influence host methylation states. Here, we estimate epigenetic diversity and differentiation among 21 popul...

Understanding the consequences of environmental change on ecological and evolutionary dynamics is inherently problematic because of the complex interplay between them. Using invertebrates in microcosms, we characterise phenotypic, population and evolutionary dynamics before, during and after exposure to a novel environment and harvesting over 20 generations. We demonstrate an evolved change in life‐history traits (the age‐ and...

Ecological divergence has a central role in speciation and is therefore an important source of biodiversity. Studying the micro‐evolutionary processes of ecological diversification at its early stages provides an opportunity for investigating the causative mechanisms and ecological conditions promoting divergence. Here we use morphological traits, nitrogen stable isotope ratios and tooth wear to characterize two disparate type...

To be effective, management programmes geared towards halting or reversing the spread of invasive species must focus on defined and defensible areas. This requires knowledge of the dispersal of non‐native species targeted for control to better understand invasion and recolonisation scenarios. We investigated the genetic structure of invasive American mink ( Neovison vison ) in Scotland, and incorporated landscape genetic appro...

Patterns of spatio‐temporal genetic variation at a class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus and multiple microsatellite loci were analysed within and between three water vole metapopulations in Scotland, UK. Comparisons of MHC and microsatellite spatial genetic differentiation, based on standardised tests between two demographically asynchronous zones within a metapopulation, suggested that spatial MHC variation w...

Daubenton's bat ( Myotis daubentonii ) is a known reservoir for European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV‐2). An appreciation of the potential for epidemiological spread and disease risk requires an understanding of the dispersal of the primary host, and any large‐scale geographical barriers that may impede gene flow. The spatial pattern of microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation was examined to infer patterns of dispersal o...