Research line
Evolutionary biology
(PI: Bart Pollux) - A staggering diversity of complex reproductive strategies has evolved in livebearing animals. The evolution of these innovative reproductive adaptations is one of the most significant phenomena in the rise of multicellular organisms.
We study how these complex adaptations evolve and what their developmental consequences are for maternal-fetal interactions during pregnancy. We focus our studies on livebearing fishes of the family Poeciliidae, because complex reproductive adaptations (e.g. placentation, superfetation, clonality) evolved multiple times independently in this family.
Current projects:
| * | Evolutionary ecology of placentation and superfetation in livebearing fish (Vidi project B.J.A. Pollux) |
| * | How does the evolution of placentation influence the mechanisms which drive transgenerational phenotypic plasticity? Understanding the evolution of maternal effects in the live-bearing fish family Poeciliidae (PhD project T.R. Ernst) |
| * | Why does a mother not reject her developing offspring during pregnancy? (PhD project M. Ahmed) |