Welcome

Zoology and Evolutionary Biology
is a research group at Department of Biology of Tor Vergata University (Roma, Italy)

Our research interest is primarily addressed to the manifold facets of biodiversity, attempting to integrate basic knowledge in systematics and biogeography with ecological genetics and molecular approaches to phylogeography and phylogeny.

Basically we are interested on the genetic structure of populations analysed at different geographic scales and by different molecular tools. Molecular markers and other character sets are used to improve empirical estimation of evolutionary parameters such as selective values, gene flow, and rates of cladogenetic events. Study organisms include cave dwelling organisms, butterflies, dragonflies, crustaceans, fish, amphibians and Galapagos iguanas.

Starting from basic science we attempt to render the field of zoology useful to management and conservation of natural resources. In this context, on behalf of the Regione Lazio, we have established at Tor Vergata University the "Osservatorio per la Biodiversità del Lazio" (OBL). The OBL database is built up by georeferenced data of plants and animals connected with GIS applications.