GERARD TALAVERA
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Education

  • 2012 – Ph.D. in Biology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Catalonia, Spain; Advisor: Dr. Roger Vila; 
          Thesis: Phylogenetic inference at different insect taxonomic levels. (Maximum mark: Cum Laude)
  • 2007 – M.Sc. in Genetics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Catalonia, Spain. Advisor: Dr. José Castresana;
          Thesis: Alignments quality and their impact in phylogenetic analysis (Maximum mark: 10/10)
  • 2004 – B.Sc. in Biology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Catalonia, Spain.


Research Positions

  • 2018 - 2020:   Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
                                      Juan de la Cierva (Incorporación) Contract
  • 2014 - 2017:   Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) & Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB)
                                     Harvard University, MA, USA. (Prof. Naomi Pierce lab)
                                     Beatriu de Pinós & Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships
  • 2013:               Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology & Soil Science
                                     St Petersburg State University (Prof. Vladimir Lukhtanov lab)
                                     Postdoctoral Fellow.
  • 2013:               Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) & Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB)
                                     Harvard University, MA, USA. (Prof. Naomi Pierce lab)
                                     Postdoctoral Fellow.
  • 2009 - 2012:   Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) & Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB)
                                     Harvard University, MA, USA. (Prof. Naomi Pierce lab)
                                     Visiting PhD Student. Awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science.
  • 2008 - 2012:   Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Barcelona, Spain & Department of Genetics and Microbiology
                                     Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain
                                     PhD Student. Awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science.
  • 2004 - 2007:   Institute of Molecular Biology (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
                                     Group of Phylogeny and Computational Evolutionary Biology
                                     Post‐graduate Fellowship and MSc Student. Awarded by he CSIC I3P postgraduate program (Spanish Ministry    
                                     of Science) and the BBVA foundation.



Conferences and Meetings
​
  • British Ecological Society (BES) Annual Meeting.
     December 2018. Birmingham, UK 
           Oral presentation: The longest butterfly migration: integrative research to track long-range insect movements.
  • Biomove symposium 2018.
     September 2018. Potsdam, Germany 
           Oral presentation: Integrative research to track long-range insect migrations.
  • 8th International Conference on the Biology of Butterflies.
     June 2018. NCBS, Bangalore, India 
           Oral presentation: Investigating the worldwide migrations of the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) through integrative research.
  • 7th International Barcode of Life conference (iBOL)
            November 2017. Kruger National Park, South Africa.
            Oral Presentation: Can DNA barcodes helps improve higher-level systematics? Simulations and the Polyommatus blue butterflies                                      (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) provide an answer  
  • North American Butterfly Association Biennial Meeting / Texas Butterfly Festival
             Keynote speaker. November 2016. Mission, TX, USA.
  • Workshop on Population and Speciation Genomics 2016
​            24th of January to 6th of February of 2016. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
  • V Encuentro de Lepidoptera Neotropicales (ELEN)
​            16h to 20th of November 2015. Tucumán, Argentina.
            Oral Presentation: Barren in the Promised land: The biogeographic history of the relict Brazilian butterfly Elkalyce cogina (Lycaenidae)
            Poster Presentation: Ancient Neotropical origin and recent recolonisation: Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of the Riodinidae
            (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea).
   
  • Butterfly Weekend - Boston Museum of Science
            Guest Research Presentation: A marvelous migration (July 2015)
  • 7th International Conference on the Biology of Butterflies.
      August 2014. Turku University, Finland
            Poster presentation: Making phylogenetically comprehensible the hyperdiverse Polyommatina butterflies
  • 1st Congress of Insects in Qatar
            24th to 30th of April of 2014. Doha, Qatar
            Invited talk: Exploring insect diversity through molecular systematics: phylogenetic and spatial biodiversity surveys of butterfly fauna
  • Workshop on Landscape Genetics 2014
            10th to 15th of March of 2014. Göttingen, Germany (Awarded by the Volkswagen Foundation)
  • Workshop on Genomics 2014
            12th to 25th of January of 2014. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
  • Thematic School on Advanced methods in Neotropical Biogeography
            October 2013. Kourou, French Guiana. (Awarded by CEBA - Centre d’étude de la biodiversité amazonienne)
  • II Iberian Congress of Biological Systematics
            September 2013. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
            Oral presentation: Improving the knowledge of root, branches and leaves of the hyperdiverse Lycaenidae + Riodinidae tree
  • 5th Central European Workshop of Myrmecology
            September 2013. University of Innsbruck, Austria.
            Oral Presentation: Discovered just before extinction? The first endemic ant from the Balearic Islands endangered by climate change.
  • XIII Jornada de Biologia Evolutiva
            July 2013. Societat Catalana de Biologia Evolutiva, Barcelona, Spain
            Oral Presentation: Descoberta just abans de l’extinció? La primera formiga endèmica de les Illes Balears amenaçada pel    
            canvi climàtic.
  • First Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology
            July 2012. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
            Poster presentation: Exploring ecological causes behind the Palaeartic radiation of the Polyommatus blues.
  • Biodiversity Informatics Training Workshop (BITW) (VertNet)
            June 2012. University of Colorado (USA) (Awarded by the Vertnet project)
  • CEE Symposium on “Integrating Ecology into Macroevolutionary Research”
            March 2011. Zoological Society of London
            Poster presentation: Exploring ecological causes behind the Palaeartic radiation of the Polyommatus blues.
  • 6th International Conference on the Biology of Butterflies
             July 2010. Universidad de Alberta, Canada
             Poster presentation: How common are dot-like distribution ranges? Taxonomical oversplitting in Western European        
             Agrodiaetus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) revealed by chromosomal and molecular markers.
  • Workshop on Molecular Evolution 2010
            23th July to 12th of August of 2010. MBL - Woods Hole, MA (USA)
  • Mutualism (5th Annual Harvard Plant Biology Symposium)
            May 2009. Harvard University


Reviewer History

I have reviewed for: Committee for Research and Exploration - National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation, USA (NSF), Scientific Reports, Gene, Journal of Biogeography, BMC Evolutionary Biology, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Plos ONE, Ecological Research, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Genome, Journal of Insect Conservation, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Organisms Diversity and Evolution.



Member of:
  • Committee for Research and Exploration Reviewer Circle - National Geographic Society
  • European Society of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB)
  • British Ecological Society (BES)
  • The Systematics Association
  • Cambridge Entomological Club
  • Asociación Ibérica de Mirmecología​

​Fieldwork

I have led numerous scientific expeditions in >30 countries in five continents, particularly in studying the insect migration phenomenon.
  • 2019: Kenya
  • 2018: Cameroon, India, Senegal, Benin
  • 2017: Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Crete, Morocco
  • 2016: Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Hawaii
  • 2015: Argentina, Northern and Central Mexico, Dominican Republic, Northern, Central US and Canada, Namibia, California and Arizona
  • 2014: S Ethiopia, Senegal, Benin, Chad, N Ethiopia, Qatar.
  • 2013: French Guiana, NE USA, Oman
  • 2012: Balearic Islands
  • 2011: Germany, NE Kazakhstan and Altai Mountains
  • 2010: W Canada
  • 2009: Balearic Islands
  • 2003-2008: Bolivia, Peru, Indonesia, Iceland, Nepal, Uganda, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Europe

Copyright G. Talavera
 © 2015. All Rights Reserved