BEHAVIOURAL AND EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY

Our main aim is to investigate ecological processes modulating organism’s adaptive evolution. We focus on phenotypic traits related to behaviour and ecological interactions, being interested in exploring proximate mechanisms and ultimate functions, integrating levels of organization from genes to ecosystems. The study of species interactions and their geographical variation are central aspects of the group’s research lines. We work in the field and in the lab, as well as “in silico”, using as models a wide range of organisms and systems. We address questions related to the evolution of host-parasite systems, breeding parasitism, interactions with microorganisms, cryptic interactions, sexual selection, signalling, interactions between predators and prey, between competitors, plant-animal interactions, foraging processes in predators and pollinators, and their consequences for the architecture of antagonistic (trophic) and mutualistic (pollination) complex network