Parasite-Host interactions

Parasitism, as well as other symbiotic interactions, is recognized as a key driver of evolutionary novelty and ecological diversity throughout the tree of life. Often, the evolutionary fate of host and parasite partners is intertwined at ecological and evolutionary levels but it is not yet clear how macroevolutionary processes originate extant associations. Our lab is working on disentangling the contribution of evolutionary relationships between hosts and parasites, and role of parasite and host ecological traits to the congruence of Host-Parasite phylogeographic patterns. We aim to provide new insights into how the mechanisms shaping coevolutionary dynamics in species interactions may result in co-phylogenetic structure among Host-Parasite association and patterns of host specificity. Through collaborations, we also contribute to the development of new cophylogenetic methods that allow taking more variables and uncertainty into account.