Meet your colleagues

2012-2013

• 14 November 2012, Aud. 4 (K.L. Ledeganckstraat) at 13.45 p.m.
  Research Group of Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates by prof. D. Adriaens

Evolutionary morphology of vertebrates ... about vampires and dragons

As Darwin was fascinated about natural variation in what animals look like, it opened his view on how evolution allowed the origin of new species. He discovered the general process of evolution, considering that organisms had more chance to survive if they were better adapted to their environment. The discipline of evolutionary morphology targets just that: to what degree can evolutionary changes in a phenotype (the way an organism is constructed) be considered as adaptations to deal with a changing environment, and how did they arise starting from an ancestral condition? In our research group, we focus on two main systems in evolutionary morphology that involve the major drives in evolutionary changes in animals: the feeding system and the locomotory system. In trying to obtain answers on questions related to adaptive evolution in these systems, we have and are studying some specific representatives of vertebrate lineages within fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we try to understand (1) the nature of structural modifications that have occurred during evolution, and (2) how they influence the functionality of the organism. Studying this relation between morphological variation and its implication on functional performance can provide insights in how adaptive evolution progressed, thereby increasing the chances of survival of the fitter ones. In this presentation, I will tackle some specific cases that we focus on, such as blood-sucking catfish, seahorses, mouth-brooding cichlids, pelican eels, Darwin’s finches and African molerats.

• 27 February 2013, Aud. 4 (K.L. Ledeganckstraat) at 13.45 p.m.
  VIB Department for Molecular Biomedical Research by Prof. B. Lambrecht

• 8 May 2013, Aud. 4 (K.L. Ledeganckstraat) at 13.45 p.m.
  Research group Center for Ordered Materials, Organometallics and Catalysis (COMOC) by Prof. P. Van Der Voort

• 3 July 2013, Aud. 4 (K.L. Ledeganckstraat) at 13.45 p.m.
  Research group Molecular Signalling and Cell Death Unit by Prof. P. Vandenabeele

View

• 22 February 2012
  Research group Experimental Particle Physics door Prof. D. Ryckbosch. Watch the movie (only in Dutch).

• 2 May 2012
  Research group Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Research Group door Prof. P. Dubruel. Watch the movie (only in Dutch).