Have you ever wondered why some groups of fishes are so incredibly diverse while others are represented by only a few species? Or maybe why some groups have evolved into a striking diversity of shapes and color while others remain so unchanged after millions of years that they are referred to as living fossils? These are the kind of questions that have guided my research interests.

During the last 10 years, I have worked in some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth (including and the Amazon basin and the Caribbean reefs), which have provided me with a broad understanding of the factors shaping biodiversity at multiple ecological and evolutionary scales.

More recently, I have been interested in integrating genome-wide molecular data and the fossil record to produce highly-resolved, time calibrated phylogenetic trees for some of the most diverse marine perch-like fish groups (Carangaria, Pelagiaria, and Syngnatharia). Assessing the tempo and mode of evolution throughout these three major clades, I intend to elucidate the ecological factors driving their morphological and lineage diversification.

Other research interests and previous projects include:

• Using molecular phylogenies to examine fish biogeographic patters;

• Assessing ecological and historical factors influencing fish communities assemblage processes;

• Using molecular tools to elucidate species limits in highly diverse fish faunas.