Biological evolution

This area of research seeks to understand the response of biodiversity to the drastic changes in climate that have occurred throughout history, and the evolution of behavioral responses in animals in different ecological contexts. We are studying the interaction between historical and present-day climatic variation – including latitudinal variation of climate – and how these variables affect the generation, preservation and loss of phenotypic and genetic diversity. The objectives of this area of research are to study the process of speciation on a variety of temporal and geographical scales, to understand patterns of genetic diversity caused by climatic fluctuations, and to examine the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on phenotypic and behavioral diversification. Our work focuses on two particular areas: the molecular phylogenetic structure of organisms that inhabit ecosystems that were severely affected by the last ice age and are currently subject to rapid climate change, and the behavioral ecology of organisms according to environmental variability.