Sofia Costa

I am a PhD student in the Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution (BIODIV) doctoral programme at CE3C, FCUL. My main research interests concern population structure, temperature and sexual selection, as I aim to understand the impact of rising temperatures and habitat fragmentation on reproductive traits, as well as how the interplay between these factors affect the evolution of reproductive traits. With this project, I also aim to test if there is genetic variation in reproductive traits and whether these traits are genetically correlated, if both genetic variation and correlations are environment-dependent, and if they evolve with temperature and population structure. To address these issues, I am studying the spider mite Tetranychus urticae under the supervision of Leonor R. Rodrigues (CE3C), Sara Magalhães (CE3C) and Dries Bonte (Ghent University).