Position: PhD Student

Project: Evolution to the rescue? Understanding the evolution of plant behaviour in response to rapid environmental change.

Research Interests: I love that what you see is not always what you get…Phenotype often does not reveal gentoype, and so the coding for certain characteristics can remian hidden within a population’s native range. I am studying Senecio (daisies) on Mount Etna to determine whether there is any hope for these organisms (and others) under the increasing pressures of a rapidly changing climate. Are organisms able to persist in novel environments due to adaptive potential (the ability of certain genotypes to persist) and adpative plasticity?

Background:

2022 – present: PhD at University College London, London NERC DTP

2019 – 2022: Parenting and GCSE tutor and examiner

2009 – 2019: Secondary Biology Teacher

2006 – 2009: Audience Development Manager, Maidstone Museum.

2004 – 2006: Formal Learning Program Developer and Explainer, Natural Hisotry Museum

2001 – 2004: BSc Biology with Science Communication, Royal Holloway University of London, 1st Class (Hons).

Contact:

E-mail: hayley.mcmechan.22@ucl.ac.uk

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