Lucía Alarcón-Ríos

I am an evolutionary ecologist with a keen interest in studying the diversity, evolution, and interplay of phenotypic traits, reproductive strategies, and life cycles. My research has so far focused on the study of the eco-evolutionary implications arising from the emergence of novel reproductive strategies across various phenotypic traits, including morphology, colouration, and paternity patterns. To do so, I use one of the few bimodal reproductive vertebrate species, the fire salamander, as a model system, and apply a suite of analytical tools, including geometric morphometrics, quantitative colour pattern analysis, and molecular paternity analysis, to assess how the existence of distinct reproductive modes affects functional and evolutionary traits diversity.   

Currently, I am extending my research scope to examine the phenotypic consequences of human-induced environmental transformation, particularly in urban areas and exotic plantations, integrated within the context of reproductive diversity. In the future, I would like to expand my research into the study of the eco-evolutionary processes underlying phenotypic and reproductive diversity focusing on developmental pathways and environments, and their potential interplay with human-driven environmental change.