Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde

Dr. Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

29Years (1998-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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4 October 2012 in Systematic Biology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
ACAstrid Cruaud
Astrid Cruaud
NRNina Ronsted
Nina Ronsted
BCBhanumas Chantarasuwan
Bhanumas Chantarasuwan
LCLien Chou
Lien Chou
WCWendy L. Clement
Wendy L. Clement
VSVincent Savolainen
Vincent Savolainen
It is thought that speciation in phytophagous insects is often due to colonization of novel host plants, because radiations of plant and insect lineages are typically asynchronous. Recent phylogenetic comparisons have supported this model of diversification for both insect herbivores and specialized pollinators. An exceptional case where contemporaneous plant–insect diversification might be expected is the obligate mutualism between fig trees (Ficus species, Moraceae) and their pollinating wasps (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera). The ubiquity and ecological significance of this mutualism in tropical and subtropical ecosystems has long intrigued biologists, but the systematic challenge posed by >750 interacting species pairs has hindered progress toward understanding its evolutionary history. In particular, taxon sampling and analytical tools have been insufficient for large-scale cophylogenetic analyses. Here, we sampled nearly 200 interacting pairs of fig and wasp species from across the globe. Two supermatrices were assembled: on an average, wasps had sequences from 77% of 6 genes (5.6 kb), figs had sequences from 60% of 5 genes (5.5 kb), and overall 850 new DNA sequences were generated for this study. We also developed a new analytical tool, Jane 2, for event-based phylogenetic reconciliation analysis of very large data sets. Separate Bayesian phylogenetic analyses for figs and fig wasps under relaxed molecular clock assumptions indicate Cretaceous diversification of crown groups and contemporaneous divergence for nearly half of all fig and pollinator lineages. Event-based cophylogenetic analyses further support the codiversification hypothesis. Biogeographic analyses indicate that the present-day distribution of fig and pollinator lineages is consistent with a Eurasian origin and subsequent dispersal, rather than with Gondwanan vicariance. Overall, our findings indicate that the fig-pollinator mutualism represents an extreme case among plant–insect interactions of coordinated dispersal and long-term codiversification. [Biogeography; coevolution; cospeciation; host switching; long-branch attraction; phylogeny.]

13 November 2008
Verified
Book Chapter
Closed access
PDF file
ARAlain Roques
Alain Roques
WRWolfgang Rabitsch
Wolfgang Rabitsch
JRJean-Yves Rasplus
Jean-Yves Rasplus
CLCarlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde
WNWolfgang Nentwig
Wolfgang Nentwig
MKMarc Kenis
Marc Kenis

6 August 2009 in Molecular Ecology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
RVR. Valade
R. Valade
MKM. Kenis
M. Kenis
AHA. Hernandez‐Lopez
A. Hernandez‐Lopez
SAS. Augustin
S. Augustin
NMN. Mari Mena
N. Mari Mena
CLCarlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde

1 July 2004 in Nature
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
CLCarlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde
JKJ. Will Koning
J. Will Koning
RBRuth M. Brown
Ruth M. Brown
WJWilliam C. Jordan
William C. Jordan
ABAndrew F. G. Bourke
Andrew F. G. Bourke

1 October 2001 in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
CLCarlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde
JRJean Yves Rasplus
Jean Yves Rasplus
GWGeorge D Weiblen
George D Weiblen
JCJames Cook
James Cook

21 June 2011 in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
DLDavid C Lees
David C Lees
HLH Walter Lack
H Walter Lack
RRRodolphe Rougerie
Rodolphe Rougerie
AHAntonio Hernandez-Lopez
Antonio Hernandez-Lopez
TRThomas Raus
Thomas Raus
CLCarlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde