A population/conservation genomics lab

In a nutshell, the lab studies how the dynamic environmental context of populations shape their evolutionary trajectories. We conduct interdisciplinary research using a combination of fieldwork, genomic data, and a variety of  bioinformatic, statistical, and geospatial approaches. Our overarching goal is to improve our understanding of species' and communities' responses to past and present environmental change, and ultimately forecast their future trajectories to inform sound conservation strategies.

 The kind of questions that the lab addresses include:

• How and to what extent does the environmental context of populations influence the interplay between selection, drift, and gene flow?
  

• To what extent do co-distributed species share a common response to environmental change, and which factors determine the long-term stability of communities?
  

• What role does environmental heterogeneity play in the differential accumulation of species across the globe?
  

• How can we integrate spatial and environmental information with genomic data for better informed conservation?
  

• How can we explicitly use historical inferences to better forecast potential future reservoirs of genetic diversity?

To answer these questions, we use a wide range of study systems, from plants to vertebrates, from tropical to temperate regions. Among them, one of the most developed is small terrestrial mammals, especially those from the tropical Andes. Part of our work on this vastly understudied group, includes traditional museum-based research, along with taxonomic, phylogenetic, and biogeographic analyses.