+ HOME + MISSION + ORGANIZATION + HOST INSTITUTIONS + CONTACTS

Research Groups

Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics of Aquatic Organisms

In the last years, our research has been mostly focused on the elucidation of phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns in non-model marine and anadromous species, from some particular biogeographic regions (Mediterranean and Ponto-Caspian region, Iberian Atlantic coast, Macaronesian islands), and in the study of population structure and phylogeography of continental freshwater species, particularly in Iberia, in some historically isolated aquatic systems across the continent (lake Baikal region) and, more recently, in northern Africa isolated fish populations. From these studies more relevant questions on the evolutionary processes that shaped present species and population diversification have been approached through the use of molecular and ecological data, such are the cases of the hybridization and introgression processes and the hypothesis of adaptive divergence and selection in shads, or the evidence of criptic species and narrow contact zones in marine invertebrates (e.g limpets).

Our research activity is also focused on the evolution of biogeographic patterns and analysis of biogeographic discontinuities in the marine environment, with particular emphasis on the putative effects of climate change over coastal species. Within this line of research, the accumulated evidence of non-congruent range shifts in many marine organisms prompted for additional and independent evidence, especially at the genetic, physiological and behavioral levels. Two main objectives emerged: the study of connectivity patterns between populations, especially by using genetic data but also individual tracking, and the study of thermal stress/tolerance at the individual level, through the deployment of mimetic loggers across broad geographical scales. In both cases a modeling component is fundamental to generate predictions against which empirical data can be checked. We aim to develop or improve such models, to gain some understanding on the effect of geographical or thermal barriers to dispersal, using a set of species with different dispersal capabilities, such as isopods (direct brooders), limpets (spawners with larval dispersion) and sharks (free-ranging oceanic species).

Other objective is to understand the behavioural mechanisms underlying the ecology of animal movements. Large marine predators will be used as models to test theories about behavioural strategies, in particular why certain habitats are selected at certain times. A primary aim is to understand how environmental heterogeneity affects movement patterns and behaviour, and what the consequences might be for large-scale spatial distribution, which will be crucial for testing the vulnerability of predators to high-seas fisheries. Specifically, research will also aim at determining the processes underpinning habitat selection by understanding the tactics used during foraging, diel vertical migration, and sexual segregation, and how trade-offs contribute to adaptive flexibility and optimality. Efforts will also be made at understanding the effects of environmental heterogeneity on movements and behaviour and translating observations taken at small spatial and temporal scales into patterns at greater scales. A final research aim will be to elucidate and quantify the properties of the searching movements of marine predators.

Over the past year we also have begun an investigation into the role that physiological adaptation to different environments has played in the diversification of fish species by studying the molecular evolution and population genetics of several genes that may have been involved in the adaptive process (i.e., candidate genes).