Sami Kivelä

I am an evolutionary ecologist particularly interested in life history evolution and the evolution of local adaptations. In order to understand evolutionary constraints, I study the developmental and physiological mechanisms that produce the phenotypes that we observe. The ultimate aim is to produce knowledge of the cascading effects of microevolution and the mechanistic basis of phenotypes on interspecific interactions, community dynamics and ecosystem functioning. To reach that goal, I am also studying interspecific interactions at the community-level and community-level responses to environmental change.

My current research focuses primarily on the evolutionary adaptation to urbanized environments and the diversity of interspecific interactions in animal communities.