WELCOME TO THE SLUG LAB
ABOUT US
Welcome to the Slug Lab!
We are a research group based at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, led by Dr. Juan Moles. Our research focuses on the systematics and taxonomy of heterobranch molluscs, which include a great diversity of snails and slugs. During the next 3 years we will be developing the "HETGEN 1000" project (funded by @cienciagob) where we aim to clarify the systematics of this group based on molecular and morpho-anatomical data.
MEET THE TEAM & CURRENT PROJECTS
Juan Moles
Principal Investigator
Lecturer professor at the University of Barcelona since 2021 after his time as a postdoctoral researcher at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. He has participated in several Antarctic campaigns, in Norway, Panama, Maldives and the Mediterranean and his research focuses on antarctic benthic invertebrate ecology, heterobranch systematics and taxonomy, and marine invertebrate phylogenomics. In collaboration with international researchers, he is currently leading the HETGEN 1000 project, which aims to elucidate the systematics of heterobranchs based on novel molecular techniques.
Jose Fernández
Master student
Jose did his master's thesis in the research group on interstitial heterobranchs, finding new records and new species of different genera. He has described several species of Indian nudibranchs and sacoglossans and he is currently working as a research technician in the group, participating in the sampling campaigns and working in both the molecular and morphology laboratories. At HETGEN 1000, Jose will be in charge of shedding light on the systematics of Panpulmonates, which includes thousands of species of marine, freshwater and terrestrial molluscs.
Marina Monte
Master student
Marina Monte collaborates in the group as a student of the Master's degree in Oceanography at the University of Barcelona. Her master's thesis focuses on the use of mitochondrial genomes to resolve the evolutionary relationships of Heterobranchia. She has annotated mitogenomes of more than 100 species of snails and slugs, making this the largest phylogenetic analysis of Heterobranchia with this type of molecular data, which is expected to provide interesting insights into the group's evolutionary history.
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Diego Vázquez
Biology student
Final year student of Biology at the University of Barcelona. He has always been interested in the biodiversity, evolution, ecology and biology of marine invertebrates. Currently, he focuses her study on revising the controversial taxonomy of the nudibranch genus Doto, including the description of two new species, one from the Mediterranean Sea and the other from the Pacific Ocean. His next project, at HETGEN100, will focus on a phylogenomic approach to understanding the origin of the most diverse clade of gastropods (Heterobranchia), analyzing the early lineages or “lower” heterobranchs for the first time.
Mar Ferrer
Marine Science student
Final year student of Marine Science at the University of Barcelona. Her project focuses on a revision of the status and diversity of the genus Doris, characterized by its controverted taxonomic history. Through an integrative molecular and morpho-anatomical study, a case of hidden biodiversity and simpatric species comes to light, ressurrecting a species within the genus: Doris berghi, which is distinct from Doris ocelligera on the basis of molecular and morphoanatomical evidences.
Carla Canet
Marine Science student
Last year student of the degree in Marine Sciences at the University of Barcelona. Her project focuses on a phylogenetic study of the genus Vayssierea, a little-known genus distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific, of which we have found populations in the Canary Islands. Through a molecular and morphological study, she has proposed the incorporation of the new subfamily Okadaiinae, within which the genus Vayssierea is found. In addition, the populations of the Canary Islands appear to be of two different species, arriving in the Atlantic Ocean as invasive species.
