Research Bob O'Hara

Research: Bob O'Hara

Risk Assessment for GMOs

This is a collaboration with the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), developing models and methods for conducting risk assessments for the effects of the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms into the wild. It is part of a project, 'ARGUE', whose aim is to examine the risks posed by GM organisms, from both a biological and sociological standpoint. We are presently developing models of pollen dispersal, which will be used to assess strategies for keeping GM and organic crops apart, as well as being used in larger models of the spread and invasion of transgenes into the environment. These models will eventually be used by SYKE as a part of their process of deciding whether GM crops can be released into the Finnish environment.

The actual work is being carried out by Anna Kuparinen and Monika Schwager.

Quantitative Genetics

I have been collaborating with Juha Merilä and his group on the analysis of quantitative genetic data. This has involved developing models that can deal with a larger number of traits than the traditional models, as well as the estimation of phenotypic divergence, through a statistic called Q_ST. All of this has been done using a Bayesian approach, which gives us the flexibility to develop the models, and to calculate any relevant statistic from the model.

Here is a file with an improved version of some code to estmate the genetic and environmental components of a trait: Estimation of Variation in Quantitative Genetic Traits.

Population Ecology

I keep working on bits and pieces of population ecology, for example on fitting metapopulation models to data, and mark-release-recapture data.

Community Ecology

There are also a number of on-going collaborations looking at ecological communities. Work with the Urban Ecology group in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences has produced work examining factors which influence communities at different scales, from investigating reasons for the declines of carabid beetles across Europe, to the effects of dog excrement on microbial and floral communities in Helsinki's woodlands.

A project looking at British moth communities is also developing, so far it has examined the validity of methods for estimating the number of species in a community. Crispin Mutshinda Mwanza is now working on this data, looking at ways of extending Hubbell's neutral theory of biodiversity.

Miscelleneous

I also have a variety of other smaller projects that come and go. For example, I have looked at estimating the relative contributions of fluctuating selection and genetic drift on variation in genotype frequencies. I am also playing around with the analysis of the results of rugby matches, developing ratings for international teams (England are top - of course. Oddly, I haven't updated the analysis for 18 months).