Staff directory

Evolution and systematics of spiders

Biological and ecological studies of large marine vertebrates (Chondrichthyes, chelonian, cetacean and pinniped) focused on management and conservation of populations.

Comparative genomics approaches that allow us to study the origin of families of genes and proteins, and to infer functional innovations during evolution. The origin and evolution of the signaling pathway by retinoic acid, the route of steroids, or the DNA methylation machinery in metazoans have been the subject of our studies.

Phylogenetic and population genetics studies of bacteria and in particular those of interest in the field of Health.

The lab is interested in understanding how gene networks evolved in order to give rise to new organs and structures that favoured the radiation of insects. The mayfly species Cloeon dipterum is a privileged model to study evolutionary novelties.

I am interested in taphonomy, paleoecology and paleoentomology. My current research is focused on the study of Early Cretaceous amber and fossil insects from the Iberian Peninsula.

Research in Andorran ethnobotany and phylogeny of the Pyrenees of Catalan-speaking territories.

Arthropod systematics and evolution, with special interest in spiders and their kind. Molecular tools for arthropod inventorying and monitoring and conservation.

Molecular ecologists interested on marine ecosystems with experience in population genomic and metagenomics studies. My current research line is focused on the adaptation or/and phenotic plasticity of marine invertebrates to climate change using natural gradients.

The two main areas of my research are marine chemical ecology (natural products benthic invertebrates temperate, tropical and polar) and integrated coastal zone management (use of benthic invertebrates as indicators of environmental conditions in coastal management processes).

Evolutionary dynamics and specificity of the symbiosis between vertebrates and intestinal microbiota. The role of diet, genotype and geography in the dynamics of the microbiota, as well as the role of the microbial communities in the process of ecological adaptation of the host, are examined. Adaptive radiation is used as models for African and Central American cichlid fish and for lizards on the Balearic Islands.

Icnology, Tafonomy, Palaeontology

Field of research: Ecophysiology and diversity of complex natural ecosystems (e.g., microbial tapestries and intestinal tract of xylophagous insects) and simple systems, such as the study of biofilm formation in in vitro cultures using a single bacterial strain.

Conservation biology of plants, with special emphasis on the biology of small populations of endemic species and subjected to fragmentation processes in the Mediterranean region (demography, reproductive biology, population genetics). Databases of genetic biodiversity. Pharmaceutical botany.

I am an Associate Professor 'Serra Húnter' at the University of Barcelona and the lead of the Freshwater Ecology, Hydrology and Management (FEHM-Lab) research group. My research interests mainly focus on the biodiversity, ecology, and conservation of freshwater ecosystems. In particular, I have been working on large-scale spatial patterns of aquatic macroinvertebrates mediterranean climate rivers and their responses to past, present, and future disturbances, combining community and population approaches. I have conducted my research mainly on of the world, where intermittent rivers are part of the daily landscape and have triggered many evolutionary adaptations of species.

Reproductive biology of plants, with special attention to the tribe Delphinieae. Conservation biology (reproductive biology, genetic diversity and population) of endemic plants, endangered and/or rare in the Mediterranean region.

Our research is in the areas of Evo-Devo, and Comparative and Population Genomics. The research of our group focuses on the study of the impact of gene loss on the evolution of the mechanisms of development, mostly those related with the evolution of body plans and central nervous system in the different subphyla of Chordates. Among our favorite signaling pathways we study the retinoic acid, FGF and WNT, using the urochordate Oikopleura dioica, the cephalochordate amphioxus, and the vertebrate zebrafish as our preferred animal models.

My research focuses on the genetics and genomics of marine organisms with very diverse biological characteristics, from sea turtles to benthic organisms. This includes studies of phylogeography, local adaptation, ocean migrations and genetics for the conservation of threatened species

Cynipid Taxonomy and Systematics

Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Systematics of fossil insects (especially dragonflies and Hymenoptera). Taphonomy of arthropod and deposits of exceptional preservation, especially of continental origin (lacustrine and amber). Paleoecology of Mesozoic insects.