Research
Research in the lab encompasses a number of areas in evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation at different temporal and spatial scales. Our overarching ambition is to advance knowledge of the ecological, reproductive and genetic factors that promote the evolution of species via natural selection, and how these population-level processes shape the evolution of global-scale patterns of biodiversity via the interaction between organismal features and the climate. To achieve this ambition, we investigate the factors that drive the origin, adaptation and extinctions of species by employing a range of research approaches including conceptual theory, phylogenetic and bioclimatic modeling, spatial ecology, both in the field and the lab. Most of our research is conducted on vertebrates, primarily reptiles and amphibians. Below a synthesis of our major areas and project of current research.
Research in the lab encompasses a number of areas in evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation at different temporal and spatial scales. Our overarching ambition is to advance knowledge of the ecological, reproductive and genetic factors that promote the evolution of species via natural selection, and how these population-level processes shape the evolution of global-scale patterns of biodiversity via the interaction between organismal features and the climate. To achieve this ambition, we investigate the factors that drive the origin, adaptation and extinctions of species by employing a range of research approaches including conceptual theory, phylogenetic and bioclimatic modeling, spatial ecology, both in the field and the lab. Most of our research is conducted on vertebrates, primarily reptiles and amphibians. Below a synthesis of our major areas and project of current research.
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Selection Theory
The fundamental principle underlying research in our lab is selection theory and the role that natural, sexual and fecundity selection play in shaping the diversity of life on Earth. Selection theory offers a universal law to understand and predict the course of evolutionary change, and our lab approaches the study of this mechanism from two angles. First, we investigate the conceptual basis of selection and the predictions that can be derived from it. Second, we employ an adaptationist perspective to address a range of questions involving the evolution of ecological and reproductive strategies. |
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The Origins and Diversification of Biodiversity
Understanding the drivers and processes underlying the proliferation of biodiversity is one of the most challenging and profound aims of evolutionary biology, and one of the major areas of research in LEEA. We are interested in a range of problems in ecological speciation and adaptive radiation theories, including (i) the role that ecological interactions among individuals of the same species or among different species play in generating conflicts over resources (i.e., ecological competition) that lead to the emergence of selection that triggers the initiation of adaptive divergence both within (e.g., sexual dimorphism) and between species (i.e., speciation); (ii) the directions and speed of evolutionary change, primarily using phylogenetic trees and a range of phenotypic, ecological, life-history and distributional traits to address theories via macroevolutionary modeling; and (iii) the effects that geographic contexts play in shaping patterns of biodiversity evolution. For example, we are interested in understanding whether factors such as evolution on continental or island backgrounds lead to predictable patterns of diversification. |
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Climate Change and Biodiversity
The global climate has dramatically changed over the last century as a consequence of human activities and their territorial expansions. Evidence shows that these anthropogenic alterations of the planet’s environments are promoting severe changes in biodiversity, such as shifts in the geographic ranges of multiple species, and more dramatically, the rapid decline and complete extinction of many others. At LEEA, we have a central focus on understanding (i) the magnitude, rate and directions of the alterations that climate change is causing in species, (ii) how the interactions between organismal features (e.g., life-history adaptations, ecology, geographic distributions) interact with local climatic alterations to make declines and extinction risks more or less likely, and (iii) what the implications of species declines and extinctions are for local and larger-scale biodiversity. We employ a range of bioclimatic approaches to investigate population responses to climate change, normally projecting our predictions over the next century. |
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The Macroecology of Adaptations
Macroecology has consolidated as one of the most promising fields in modern evolutionary ecology. By addressing traditional and novel questions under a large-scale perspective, macroecology has contributed to shape our understanding of processes behind the evolution and distribution of biodiversity. In our lab, we are interested in using spatial ecology techniques to investigate the factors driving the evolution of different components of biodiversity (e.g., species richness, phenotypic adaptations) across large geographic gradients. |
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Conservation of Biodiversity
Our research combines the above work in evolution, climate change biology and macroecology to gain a stronger understanding of the distribution of areas of conservation priority. Some areas of the world host higher numbers of species experiencing high risks of extinctions, while other areas host few or none threatened species. Our research is committed to elucidate the factors underlying these differences in the distribution and magnitude of “hotspots of extinction”, and importantly, our work is strongly committed to transcends the boundaries of academia to employ this knowledge to inform organisations with the power to make decisions about environmental management what our evidence shows and where the areas of primary conservation concern are located.
Our research combines the above work in evolution, climate change biology and macroecology to gain a stronger understanding of the distribution of areas of conservation priority. Some areas of the world host higher numbers of species experiencing high risks of extinctions, while other areas host few or none threatened species. Our research is committed to elucidate the factors underlying these differences in the distribution and magnitude of “hotspots of extinction”, and importantly, our work is strongly committed to transcends the boundaries of academia to employ this knowledge to inform organisations with the power to make decisions about environmental management what our evidence shows and where the areas of primary conservation concern are located.
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