Research Group: Applied Evolutionary Ecology

Evolutionary ecology is a field within both ecology and evolution that examines how interactions between and within species evolve. Understanding the evolutionary effects of organism interactions is of fundamental significance in ecology, evolution, agriculture and human health.

We study how antagonistic (pathogenic) and beneficial (mutualistic) fungal symbionts are shaped by host ecology and evolution, how ecological and evolutionary factors determine the species-range partners interact with, and how new species interactions are established, for example through partner-shifts. We mainly use molecular and applied bioinformatics coupled with experimental work. Our work is fundamental in nature, but of applied significance for example for biological control and pathogen host shifts.