Tadeusz J. Kawecki - Associate Professor

I am interested in the evolution of adaptive traits, particularly in response to novel, variable and stressful environments. In the last few years research in my group has focused on two subjects: evolutionary biology of learning and adaptation to chronic nutritional stress. Recently, we also began to study consequences of sexual selection. We use experimental evolution and other experimental approaches in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, as well as mathematical and computer models. For details, see the group webpage

I organize the Evolutionary Biology Workshop in the Alps. The focus of this annual workshop, which brings together a mixture of Swiss and foreign PhD and Master students as well as invited faculty, is to develop the ability to think clearly about research, to develop and defend research projects, and to write research proposals.

M.Sc. 1990, in Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Ph.D. 1993, in Zoology, University of Basel, Switzerland
Erdös number: 4

1993-1995:
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland

1995-1998 Research Associate, University of Maryland at College Park, USA

1998-2001:
Lecturer, University of Basel, Switzerland

2001-2007:
Lecturer, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

2007-
Associate Professor, University of Lausanne

(for a full list with pdfs click on the link above)

Vijendravarma, R.K., Narasimha, S., Chakrabarti, S., Babin, A., Kolly, S., Lemaitre, B. & Kawecki, T.J. 2015. Gut physiology mediates a trade-off between adaptation to malnutrition and susceptibility to food-borne pathogens. Ecology Letters 18: 1078–1086.

Hollis, B. and T. J. Kawecki. 2014. Male cognitive performance declines in the absence of sexual selection. Proc. R. Soc. B 281:20132873

Vijendravarma, R. K., Narasimha, S. & Kawecki, T. J. 2013. Predatory cannibalism in Drosophila melanogaster larvae. Nature Communications 4:1789.

Kawecki T.J., Lenski R.E., Ebert D., Hollis B., Olivieri I., Whitlock M.C. 2012. Experimental evolution. Trends Ecol. Evol. 27:547-560.

Kawecki, T. J. 2008. Adaptation to marginal habitats. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst., 39: 321–342.

Mery, F., Belay, A. T., So, A. K. C., Sokolowski, M. B. & Kawecki, T. J. 2007. Natural polymorphism affecting learning and memory in Drosophila. PNAS 104: 13051-13055.

Mountaineering, birdwatching.

With Mark Kirkpatrick on Piz Morteratsch