CV - GERARD TALAVERA

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