Victor Soria-Carrasco

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
Animal and Plant Sciences
University of Sheffield
United Kingdom

Academician Plant Sciences
Biography

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield (2016‒present) PIP Zoology Fellow, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield (2016) Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK (2012‒2016) PhD ‘Global analyses of mammalian diversification from molecular phylogenies’ in the Genetics Department, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain (2004‒2011) MSc in Biology, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain (2003‒2004)

Research Intrest

I am broadly interested in understanding how evolution has produced the current patterns of biological diversity. My research aims at integrating evolutionary research across timescales to link microevolutionary processes with macroevolutionary patterns. Primarily, I analyse large datasets using computational approaches, which are heavily based on phylogenetics and population genetics, in order to answer questions that are focused on two major research axes: (i) patterns of evolutionary diversification, and (ii) mechanisms of speciation. My research spans different evolutionary timescales. In terms of macroevolution, I have analysed global diversification patterns in mammals and their relationship with the latitudinal gradient of diversity. Whereas, at the microevolutionary end, I studied the genetic basis of adaptation and the genomics of ecological speciation in Timema stick insects, as well as questions regarding the speciation continuum and the limits to divergence. My current research project mainly revolves around combining simulation studies and large-scale comparative analyses using data from a range of organisms to investigate the effect of gene flow on long-term evolutionary dynamics.

List of Publications
Comeault AA, Flaxman SM, Riesch R, Curran E, Soria-Carrasco V, Gompert Z, Farkas TE, Muschick M, Parchman TL, Schwander T, Slate J. Selection on a genetic polymorphism counteracts ecological speciation in a stick insect. Current Biology. 2015 Aug 3;25(15):1975-81.
Comeault AA, Carvalho CF, Dennis S, Soria‐Carrasco V, Nosil P. Color phenotypes are under similar genetic control in two distantly related species of Timema stick insect. Evolution. 2016 Jun 1;70(6):1283-96.
Parchman TL, Buerkle CA, Soria‐Carrasco V, Benkman CW. Genome divergence and diversification within a geographic mosaic of coevolution. Molecular ecology. 2016 Nov 1;25(22):5705-18.
Riesch R, Muschick M, Lindtke D, Villoutreix R, Comeault AA, Farkas TE, Lucek K, Hellen E, Soria-Carrasco V, Dennis SR, de Carvalho CF. Transitions between phases of genomic differentiation during stick-insect speciation. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2017 Feb 17;1:0082.