The Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab at UCY applies molecular genetics and genomic tools to address ecological questions, with a special focus on the study of island communities. Specifically, we use molecular markers and genomic data to study the phylogeny, phylogeography and population genetics of island taxa, while we also apply metagenetic methodologies to unravel biodiversity dynamics of island communities.
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phylogeography & population genomicsWe apply comparative phylogeography and population genomics to understand the role of ecological traits in the dispersal propensity and diversification of island taxa. We also study the effects of Quaternary climatic change and sea-level oscillations on the demographic history and diversification of island taxa. We mostly focus on flightless arthropod lineages from two Eastern Mediterranean island systems: Cyprus and the Aegean archipelago.
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METABARCODING & METAGENOMICSMetabarcoding and metagenomic shotgun sequencing allows the study of entire complex communities in bulk for the analysis of species richness and phylogenetic diversity directly from an environmental sample. We have recently started implementing such metagenetic approaches to unravel the biodiversity dynamics of island communities, with a special focus on the "hidden" biodiversity of small-bodied arthropods.
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