The research group Systematic Biology Group focuses on studying the diversification dynamics of life throughout evolutionary history. We use molecular phylogenetics to infer when, where and how different groups of organisms diversified.

No longer are we simply interested in how different taxa are related to each other, but instead we can ask whether the phylogenetic relationships coupled with information about when and where different lineages diverged from each other can tell us something about diversification and extinction over evolutionary time. As the world changes rapidly in front of our eyes, it is important to understand how these changes will affect biodiversity. Looking into the past might give us clues to what will be happening in the future. We are interested in the processes leading to the diversification of groups of organisms. We use phylogenetic tools to infer the evolutionary history of life on the planet based on molecular and morphological data. We try to explain why some groups of organisms are more diverse than other groups and to understand what factors influenced the diversification dynamics of groups of organisms.