Congratulations to the 2022 winner of the SSE Presidents' Award for Outstanding Dissertation Paper in Evolution [1], Dr. Maddie E. James, for her paper, “Phenotypic and genotypic parallel evolution in parapatric ecotypes of Senecio [2].” Evolution (2021) 75-12: 3115–3131. 

In this paper, Dr. James and co-authors investigated potential parallel evolution in dune and headland ecotypes of the Australian wildflower Senecio lautus. A comparison of nine dune-headland pairs, most phylogenetic sister groups, found strong parallel evolution of phenotype of branch and leaf traits with dune plants tall and headland plants prostrate. Despite phenotypic similarity among populations within each ecotype, evolutionary change was found in different genes. However, further investigation found a number of these genes had the same predicted function. This study shows response to selection that leads to parallel phenotypes is more complex when viewed at the underlying genetic level. Dr. James earned her Ph.D. at the University of Queensland, where she is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow.