Illuminating the evolution of aquatic life in hidden worlds.

The Aquatic Biodiversity and Evolution Lab investigates the evolutionary processes that generate, shape, and maintain aquatic biodiversity. Our research integrates molecular systematics, comparative genomics, ecology, and morphology to understand biodiversity, adaptation, and biogeographic patterns of aquatic invertebrates across some of Earth's most distinctive aquatic ecosystems. From subterranean caves and groundwater habitats to rivers, coral reefs, the deep sea, and the open ocean, we seek to uncover the evolutionary history of aquatic life and the processes that drive its diversification across space and time.

Latest News

April 2026

Members of the Borda Lab attend and present at the A&M-SA Student Research Symposium, San Antonio, Texas: Bernard Mbithi (MS Biology), Connor Grizzle (undergraduate), J Alfaro (undergraduate), and Peyton Sinks (undergraduate). Congratulations!! 

Bernard Mbithi wins Second Place (Graduate Oral) and Connor Grizzle wins First Place (Undergraduate Oral)!

March 2026

Borda gives her talk "Hidden Worlds, Hidden Meanings" at the TEDxTAMU Conference, C’est la vie: Finding Meaning in the Chaos. 

Bernard Mbithi (MS Biology) successfully defends his MS Thesis entitled, Diversity and Mitogenomics of Archinominae Species (Annelida: Amphinomidae) from Marine Biodiversity Hotspots. Congratulations!!