Evolution is always and everywhere. Although it is often talked about as if it were something of the past, evolution is continuously ongoing in all life and my research focuses on how this extraordinary force has led to the diversity of species we find on the planet - and what that means for the future.
To reconstruct and understand the tree of life, my research uses DNA data derived from targeted markers, random single-nucleotide-polymorphisms or whole genomes to understand the relationships between species and how different morphologies and ecological adaptations evolved through time. This data can then also be applied for practical purposes, such as pest recognition for agriculture.
Interests
- macro-evolution
- speciation
- plant-insect interactions
- bioinformatics
- entomology
Education
PhD in Evolutionary Biology, 2016
University of Amsterdam
MSc in Biology, 2009
Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands
BSc in Biology, 2007
Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Latest
- Genomic data reveal new species and the limits of mtDNA barcode diagnostics to contain a global pest species complex (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae)
- Interspecific gene flow obscures phylogenetic relationships in an important insect pest species complex
- Genomics reveals widespread hybridization across insects with ramifications for species boundaries and invasive species
- Five new species of Hawaiian endemic fancy case caterpillars from a recently established forest reserve on Maui (Cosmopterigidae: Hyposmocoma)
- Inadequate molecular identification protocols for invasive pests threaten biosecurity
- Phylogenomic inference of two widespread European leaf miner species complexes suggests mechanisms for sympatric speciation (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae: Ectoedemia)
- A phylogenomic approach to species delimitation in the mango fruit fly (Bactrocera frauenfeldi) complex: A new synonym of an important pest species with variable morphotypes (Diptera: Tephritidae)
- Mitochondrial DNA-based phylogeography of the large ringlet Erebia euryale (Esper, 1805) suggests recurrent Alpine-Carpathian disjunctions during Pleistocene (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)
- Phylogeny of gracillariid leaf-mining moths: evolution of larval behaviour inferred from phylogenomic and Sanger data
- Novel lures and COI sequences reveal cryptic new species of Bactrocera fruit flies in the Solomon Islands (Diptera, Tephritidae, Dacini)
- Phylogeography of an endemic California silkmoth genus suggests the importance of an unheralded central California province in generating regional endemic biodiversity
- First confirmed record of leaf mining in the fruitworm moths (Carposinidae): a new species feeding on an endemic Hawaiian Clermontia (Campanulaceae)
- Evaluating DNA Barcoding for species identification and discovery in European gracillariid moths
- DNA barcodes and reliable molecular identifications in a diverse group of invasive pests: lessons from Bactrocera fruit flies on variation across the COI gene, introgression, and standardization
- The Dacini fruit fly fauna of Sulawesi fits Lydekker’s line but also supports Wallacea as a biogeographic region (Diptera, Tephritidae)
- The intraspecific structure of the Yellow-spotted ringlet Erebia manto (Denis & Schiffermüller, [1775]), with special reference to the bubastis group: an integration of morphology, allozyme and mtDNA data (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)
- The paradoxical rarity of a fruit fly fungus attacking a broad range of hosts
- Highly variable COI haplotype diversity between three species of invasive pest fruit fly species reflects remarkably incongruent demographic histories
- Systematics and biogeography reciprocally illuminate taxonomic revisions in the silkmoth genus Saturnia (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)
- In and out of America: Ecological and species diversity in Holarctic giant silkmoths suggests unusual dispersal, defying the dogma of an Asian origin
- Incorporating older literature into genomic studies: A response to Zunino & Halffter
- New leaf-mine fossil from the Geumgwangdong Formation, Pohang Basin, South Korea, associates pygmy moths (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae) with beech trees (Fagaceae, Fagus) in the Miocene
- Six years of fruit fly surveys in Bangladesh: a new species, 33 new country records and recent discovery of the highly invasive Bactrocera carambolae (Diptera: Tephritidae)
- Transpacific coalescent pathways of coconut rhinoceros beetle biotypes: Resistance to biological control catalyses resurgence of an old pest
- A global checklist of the 932 fruit fly species in the tribe Dacini (Diptera, Tephritidae)
- A preliminary molecular phylogeny of shield-bearer moths (Lepidoptera: Adeloidea: Heliozelidae) highlights rich undescribed diversity
- Descriptions of four new species of Bactrocera and new country records highlight the high biodiversity of fruit flies in Vietnam (Diptera, Tephritidae, Dacinae)
- Hawaiian Philodoria (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Ornixolinae) leaf mining moths on Myrsine (Primulaceae): two new species and biological data
- Incongruence between molecules and morphology: a seven-gene phylogeny of Dacini fruit flies paves the way for reclassification (Diptera: Tephritidae)
- Systematics of Phyllocnistis leaf-mining moths (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) feeding on dogwood (Cornus spp.) in Northeast Asia, with the description of three new species
- Taiwan’s Dacini Fruit Flies: Rare Endemics and Abundant Pests, along Altitudinal Gradients
- Tracking the origins of fly invasions; using mitochondrial haplotype diversity to identify potential source populations in two genetically intertwined fruit fly species (Bactrocera carambolae and Bactrocera dorsalis [Diptera: Tephritidae])
- Two European Cornus L. feeding leafmining moths, Antispila petryi Martini, 1899, sp. rev. and A. treitschkiella (Fischer von Roslerstamm, 1843) (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae): an unjustified synonymy and overlooked range expansion
- Unusual dark forms of the Solanum fruit fly Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) in Hawaii (Tephritidae: Dacini)
- Phylogeny, classification and divergence times of pygmy leaf-mining moths (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): the earliest lepidopteran radiation on Angiosperms?
- Revised classification and catalogue of global Nepticulidae and Opostegidae (Lepidoptera, Nepticuloidea)
- Branching out: the role of host plants in the diversification of leaf-mining moths
- Species-Level Para- and Polyphyly in DNA Barcode Gene Trees: Strong Operational Bias in European Lepidoptera
- Morphological difference between upperside and underside leaf-mining larvae of Phyllocnistis unipunctella (Stephens, 1834) (Lep.:Gracillariidae) and its changing phenology
- New taxa, including three new genera show uniqueness of Neotropical Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera)
- Phylogenetics and biogeography of the dung beetle genus Onthophagus inferred from mitochondrial genomes
- A global phylogeny of leafmining Ectoedemia moths (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): exploring host plant family shifts and allopatry as drivers of speciation
- A revised checklist of Nepticulidae fossils (Lepidoptera) indicates an Early Cretaceous origin
- Coleophora gryphipennella (Hübner, 1796) (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae) on Fragaria vesca L. (Rosaceae), a novel host, in the coastal dunes of The Netherlands
- A Linnaeus NG interactive key to the Lithocolletinae of North-West Europe aimed at accelerating the accumulation of reliable biodiversity data (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae)
- Patterns in Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Reveal Historical and Recent Isolation in the Black-Tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
- The explosive expansion of the lime leaf miner in Europe: invading the Netherlands?
- Phalonidia manniana, a complex of two species: Ph. manniana and Ph. udana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
- Antispila oinophylla new species (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae), a new North American grapevine leafminer invading Italian vineyards: taxonomy, DNA barcodes and life cycle
- Bucculatrix ainsliella Murtfeldt, a new North American invader already widespread on northern red oaks (Quercus rubra) in Western Europe (Bucculatricidae)
- DNA barcoding of the leaf-mining moth subgenus Ectoedemia s. str. (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae) with COI and EF1-alpha: two are better than one in recognising cryptic species
- DNA barcoding resolves species complexes in Stigmella salicis and S. aurella species groups and shows additional cryptic speciation in S. salicis