Professor

Biodiversity, Evolutionary Ecology

 

1997-2001, BSc, Beijing Normal University, China

2001-2005, PhD., Beijing Normal University, China

2005-2008, DPhil., University of Oxford, UK

2009-present, Lecturer/Associate Prof./Prof., Beijing Normal University, China

 

Research Interests

Evolutionary community ecology. I am interested in the interplay of ecological and evolutionary processes in determining biodiversity patterns and community structure and functions. I mainly use the experimental evolution approach with laboratory bacterial and phage populations. Several specific questions we are now addressing include: (a) how temperature determines the rate of adaptive evolution and ecological specialization; (b) what factors determine the chance of evolutionary rescue in rapidly changing environments.

In particular, I am running a long-term experimental evolution project ‘Metacommunity experimental evolution’(MCEE), in which metapopulations and metacommunities of two bacterial species evolve across a temperature gradient. Hopefully we will be able to test a series of question relevant to eco-evolutionary dynamics.

 

Selected Publications

♦ Research Articles

1. Chu X.-L., Zhang D.-Y., Buckling A. & Zhang Q.-G. (2020). Warmer temperatures enhance beneficial mutation effects. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 33, 1020-1027.

2. Zhang F.-G., Bell T. & Zhang Q.-G. (2019). Experimental testing of dispersal limitation in soil bacterial communities with a propagule addition approach. Microbial Ecology, 77, 905-912.

3. Zhang Q.-G., Lu H.-S. & Buckling A. (2018). Temperature drives diversification in a model adaptive radiation. Proc. R. Soc. B , 285, 20181515.

4. Zhang, Q.-G. & Buckling, A. (2016). Resource-dependent antagonistic coevolution leads to a new paradox of enrichment. Ecology, 97, 1319-1328.

5. Hao, Y.-Q., Brockhurst, M.A., Petchey, O.L. & Zhang, Q.-G. (2015). Evolutionary rescue can be impeded by temporary environmental amelioration. Ecol. Lett. , 18, 892-898.

6. Zhang Q.-G. & Buckling A. (2012). Phages limit the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance in experimental microcosms. Evolutionary Applications, 5, 575-582. (Highlighted by the journal commentary: Refardt D. 2012. Evolutionary Applications, 5, 537-539; and recommended by F1000 Prime: http://f1000.com/prime/718180369)

 

♦ Books/Chapters

1. Brockhurst M.A., Koskella B., Zhang QG. (2017) Bacteria-Phage Antagonistic Coevolution and the Implications for Phage Therapy. In: Harper D., Abedon S., Burrowes B., McConville M. (eds) Bacteriophages. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40598-8_7-1

 

Contact Information

College of Life Sciences,

Beijing Normal University,

Beijing 100875,

P. R. China

Tel. : +86-10-58802308

E-mail: zhangqg@bnu.edu.cn