My current research is primarily concerned with the evolutionary responses of natural populations to global change. This ranges from using phylogeographic approaches to elucidate the response of species to previous climatic changes through the Ice Ages, through population genetic analyses of the impacts of present-day climate change on populations, to using next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches to determine the potential for populations to respond to future climate change. I also carry out work in conservation genetics to inform management strategies for rare and threatened species.

Finlay, C., Bradley, C., Preston, J., Provan, J. 2017. (In press) Low genetic diversity and potential inbreeding in an isolated population of alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) following a founder effect. Scientific Reports Cadair McKendrick, L., Provan, J., Fitzpatrick, Ú., Brown, M.J.F., Murray, T.E., Stolle, E., Paxton, R.J. 2017. Microsatellite analysis supports the existence of three cryptic species within the bumble bee Bombus lucroum sensu lato. Conservation Genetics Brown, J., Beatty, G., Montgomery, I., Provan, J. 2016. Broad-scale genetic homogeneity in natural populations of common hazel (Corylus avellana) in Ireland. Tree Genetics and Genomes 12 122 Cadair Brown, J.A., Beatty, G., Finlay, C.M.V., Montgomery, W.I., Tosh, D.G., Provan, J. 2016. Genetic analyses reveal high levels of seed and pollen flow in hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.), a key component of hedgerows. Tree Genetics and Genomes 12 (3) 58 Glynn, F., Houghton, J.D.R., Bastian, T., Doyle, T.K., Fuentes, V., Lilley, M.K.S., Provan, J. 2016. High-resolution genetic analysis reveals extensive gene flow within the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 117 (2) pp. 252-263. Beatty, G.E., Montgomery, W.I., Spaans, F., Tosh, D.G., Provan, J. 2016. Pure species within a continuum of genetic and morphological variation: sympatric oaks at the edge of their range. Annals of Botany 117 (4) pp. 541-549. Freeman, M.S., Beatty, G.E., Dick, J.T.A., Reid, N., Provan, J. 2016. The paradox of invasion: Reeves' muntjac deer invade the British Isles from a limited number of founding females. Journal of Zoology 298 (1) pp. 54-63. Kyle, R., Beatty, G., Roberts, D., Provan, J. 2016. Using genetic monitoring to inform best practice in a captive breeding programme: inbreeding and potential genetic rescue in the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera. Conservation Genetics 17 pp. 1323-1332.