Postdoctoral Fellow
Research group | Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis
Main supervisor | Torbj?rn H?kan Ergon
Co-supervisor |
Affiliation | Department of Biosciences, UiO
Contact | m.j.ejsmond@ibv.uio.no
Short bio
I completed my PhD at the Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) in the theory of life history evolution. In recent years I have collaborated with scientists from various institutions in Europe and U.S. in my research on theory of life history evolution, marine biology, evolutionary immunology, population genetics, and plant ecophysiology. During this time, I have been a postdoctoral fellow and researcher at the University Centre in Svalbard (Svalbard, Norway), Linnaeus University (Kalmar, Sweden) and Jagiellonian University. Currently, I am a postdoctoral research fellow at UiO under the DSTrain MSCA fellowship.
Research interests and hobbies
I'm a theoretical biologist running research in evolutionary biology, with a particular interest in life history evolution, ecological immunology and population genetics. Apart from my main interests, I have a background in modelling biological processes in marine ecology and plant ecophysiology. My research philosophy is to understand the mechanisms underlying biological phenomena, and I am not afraid to cross disciplinary boundaries in my research. I enjoy building mechanistic models with a deep understanding of how they work. In my research career, I have mainly used numerical techniques, such as individual-based computer simulations, dynamic optimization, methods that search for Evolutionarily Stable Strategy, but also simple analytical models.
Outside of science, I am interested in various topics related to emergency response and first aid, I enjoy wildlife and spending time with my sons.
DSTrain project
Storing of internal reserves for reproduction and its role in animal invasions.
Species expansions represent an important part of global change. Spreading of non-native animal species into new geographical regions reduces biodiversity due to extinction of native species and exerts tremendous negative economic impact with estimated annual costs of billions of dollars. Hence, managing of events of biological invasions is one of the most important challenges in conservation biology and ecology nowadays.
The DSTrain 'LHinvasion' project will determine the role of capital breeding, i.e. storing of body reserves for reproduction, in animal invasions. We will develop theoretical models and conduct comparative analyses of fish species to test the following research questions: Does storing body reserves for reproduction facilitate or hinder successful animal invasions? What environmental conditions favour invasions by species that store for reproduction? Which of the species that do and do not store for reproduction are better invaders? The state-of-the-art of the invasion biology and ecology does not allow to answer these questions. We aim to fill this gap by using computer numerical modelling and comparative analyses that take into account phylogenetic relationships between species.
The main motivation for undertaking the proposed research is the lack of an ecological theory that would allow us to understand historical, explain ongoing, and predict future animal invasions and climate-induced range shifts in relation to the diversity of breeding tactics based on storing for future reproduction. Current scientific literature provides contradictory predictions about the invasive potential of capital breeders. In some cases, storing for future reproduction slows population growth and can be seen as a trait that suppresses invasive potential. However, there are many examples of invasions by species that store reserves for reproduction, with capital breeding crustaceans or amphibians being among the most harmful invaders. Biological invasions are characterised by a sequence of phases, with a stationary phase of establishment of a non-native species preceding the phase of rapid expansion and population increase. Actions taken during the stationary phase, which can last for several years, significantly increase the chances of reducing the negative impact of the invasion in the future. Conservation biology is searching for candidate traits that predispose non-native species to switch from the stationary to the rapid expansion phase of invasion. This project will test whether capital breeding is one of such traits.
The project will contribute to the development of a comprehensive theory, supported by comparative analyses, to understand the role of capital breeding in animal invasions and range shifts. The results will identify the extent to which seasonal changes in conditions increase the invasive potential of species that adopt capital breeding. The theory and analyses developed will allow prediction of the fate of biological invasions by animals that differ in the degree to which body reserves are used for reproduction.
Publications
DSTrain publications
Previous publications
1. Hylander S, Farnelid H, Fridolfsson E, Hauber MM, Todisco V, Ejsmond MJ, Lindehoff E. 2024. Thiamin (vitamin B1, thiamine) transfer in the aquatic food web from lower to higher trophic levels. PLOS One 19(12): e0308844
2. Todisco V, Fridolfsson F, Axén C, Dahlgren E, Ejsmond MJ, Hauber MM, Hindar K, Tibblin P, Z?ttl M, S?derberg L, Hylander S. 2023. Thiamin dynamics during the adult life cycle of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Journal of Fish Biology 104 (3), 807-824
3. Radwan J, Kohi C, Ejsmond MJ, Paganini J, Pontarotti P. 2023. Integration of the immune memory into the pathogen‐driven MHC polymorphism hypothesis. HLA 102 (6), 653-659
4. Ejsmond MJ, Radwan J, Ejsmond A, Gaczorek T, Babik W. 2023. Adaptive immune response selects for postponed maturation and increased body size. Functional Ecology 37 (11), 2883-2894
5. Ejsmond A, Ejsmond MJ. Food resource uncertainty shapes the fitness consequences of early spring onset in capital and income breeding migratory birds. 2022. Ecology and Evolution, 12(12) e9637
6. Ejsmond A, Koz?owski J, Ejsmond MJ. 2019. Probing of mortality rate by staying alive: The growth‐reproduction trade‐off in a spatially heterogeneous environment. Functional Ecology, 33: 2327-2337
7. Ejsmond MJ, Belgrano A, Blackburn N, Casini M, Fieldorfson E, Andersson A, Haecky P, Hylander S. 2019. Modeling vitamin B1 transfer to consumers in the aquatic food web. Scientific Reports, 9, 10045: 1-11
8. Varpe ?, Ejsmond MJ. 2018. Trade-offs between storage and survival affect diapause timing in capital breeders. Evolutionary Ecology, 32(6): 623-641
9. Varpe ?, Ejsmond MJ. 2018. Semelparity and iteroparity. In Natural history of crustacea. Vol. 5: Life Histories 97-123. Editors: Gary Wellborn and Martin Thiel. Oxford University Press
10. Ejsmond MJ, McNamara JM, S?reide J, Varpe ?. 2018. Gradients of season length and mortality risk cause shifts in body size, reserves and reproductive strategies of determinate growers. Functional Ecology, 32 (10), 2395-2406
11. Ejsmond MJ, Phillips KP, Babik W, Radwan J. 2018. The role of MHC supertypes in promoting trans-species polymorphism remains an open question. Nature Communications, 9(1): 4362: 1-4
12. Ejsmond MJ, Provenza FD. 2018. Is doping of cognitive performance an anti-herbivore adaptation? Alkaloids inhibiting acetylcholinesterase as a case. Ecosphere Vol: 9(2): 1-14
13. Ejsmond MJ, Varpe ?, Czarnoleski M, Koz?owski J. 2015. Seasonality in offspring value and trade-offs with growth explain capital breeding. The American Naturalist 186: E111–E125
14. Ejsmond MJ, Radwan J. 2015. Red Queen processes drive positive selection on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes. PLOS Computational Biology 11(11), e1004627: 1-14
15. Ejsmond MJ, Ejsmond A, Banasiak ?, Karpińska-Ko?aczek M, Koz?owski J, Ko?aczek P. 2015. Large pollen at high temperature: an adaptation to increased competition on the stigma? Plant Ecology 216: 1407-1417
16. Ejsmond MJ, Radwan J, Wilson AB. 2014. Sexual selection and the evolutionary dynamics of the major histocompatibility complex. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, 20141662: 1-8
17. Ejsmond MJ, Radwan J. 2011. MHC diversity in bottlenecked populations: a simulation model. Conservation Genetics 12: 129-137
18. Ejsmond MJ, Wrońska-Pilarek D, Ejsmond A, Drogosz-Kluska D, Karpińska-Ko?aczek M, Ko?aczek P, Koz?owski J. 2011. Does climate affect pollen morphology? Optimal size and shape of pollen grains under various desiccation intensity. Ecosphere 2, 117: 1-15
19. Ejsmond MJ, Czarno??ski M, Kapustka F, Koz?owski J. 2010. How to time growth and reproduction during vegetative season: an evolutionary choice for indeterminate growers in seasonal environments. The American Naturalist 175: 551-563
20. Ejsmond MJ, Babik W, Radwan J. 2010. MHC allele frequency distributions under parasite-driven selection: A simulation model. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 332: 1-9
21. Babik W, Tarblet P, Ejsmond MJ, Radwan J. 2009. New generation sequencers as a tool for genotyping of highly polymorphic multilocus MHC system. Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 713-719
22. Ejsmond MJ. 2008. The effect of mowing on next-year predation of grassland bird nests: experimental study. Polish Journal of Ecology 56(2): 211-219