Ortega Casamayor, Emilio

My main research topic is focused on the biology and evolutionary ecology of microorganisms,  with an approach ranging from gene to ecosystem and from single cell physiology to emerging ecological patterns. We use nucleic acids-based molecular biology tools to link the studies of microbial biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling,  especially for chemoautotrophic bugs. We look for biodiversity hotspots along environmental gradients and for the bridges between the ecology of macroorganisms and microorganisms,  addressing questions regarding spatial and temporal patterns in microbial diversity,  community phylogenetic composition,  community assembly,  microbial dispersal,  and functional diversity. We are also interested in the response of aquatic bacterial communities to global change (especially in high mountain lakes as early warning systems of global processes and in the exacerbated interactions of microbes with the nitrogen cycle) and in approaching microbial biodiversity under a conservation biology perspective. Finally,  we look at the microbial genomes landscapes and metagenomics data using statistical approaches from ecology and bioinformatics. I was a member of the Steering Committees of Diversitas-Spain (2008-2014),  and currently acting as chairman of the Spanish scientific committee for Future Earth Research on Global Change and Sustainability (ICSU). Director of the CEAB since Dec 2014.