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I pursue research with an interdisciplinary approach involving extensive field work, behavioural observations and laboratory experiments, and molecular and microbial ecology. I have worked in three international research groups in different countries, and published with more than 60 collaborators from all over the world. I have 14 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 43% of which are published in high impact Science and Nature group journals. Google Scholar metrics (last 5 years): 1000 citations, h-index 9, i10-index 9. I have two decades of experience carrying out behavioural research with a variety of fish and mammalian model systems, and have conducted expeditions in different environments, from subaquatic to terrestrial desert, in countries in Europe, Africa, and South America. Research carried out during my PhD with Prof. George Turner at Bangor University (Wales, UK), using the highly diverse East African cichlid fish as a model system for investigating evolutionary processes, resulted in three publications on population divergence and ecological adaptation (Tyers & Turner 2013; Tyers et al. 2014; Malinsky et al. 2015). During my first post-doctoral position I continued to work in the same group, contributing to several large interdisciplinary projects which have provided strong evidence for historically controversial, but now widely accepted, evolutionary mechanisms. For example, that continued and substantial gene-flow does not preclude the possibility of population divergence in sympatry (Malinsky et al. 2015, published in Science), and that hybridisation can contribute to, rather than restrict, adaptive radiation (Malinsky et al. 2018, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution). For these projects I carried out field work and laboratory experiments. Specifically, I tested within-individual consistency of mate choice, showing that in contrast to Lake Malawi cichlid species, diverging crater lake ecotypes are not reproductively isolated by direct mate choice. Using geometric morphometrics I showed that the current wide-spread riverine species with the proposed ancestral body type nest within the morphospace of recently diverged specialist lacustrine species found only within Lake Malawi. To expand my research toolkit I joined the group of Dr. Dario Valenzano at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing (Cologne, Germany), which uses annual killifish as a novel system for investigate ageing and lifespan from an evolutionary perspective, and the genomics of adaptation to extreme environments. In this role I was responsible for overseeing the fish facility and wet laboratory, acting as a communication bridge between animal caretakers and researchers, training new staff and students, and representing the fish facility for the internal animal welfare body. I collaborated with other researchers (e.g. Cui et al. 2021; Xu et al. 2023), assisted students with their projects, and organised and conducted field sampling expeditions. I gained further skills in molecular biology through microbiome sequencing projects, and advanced my skills in leadership and research group management. For the last year and a half I have worked as a researcher at BIOPOLIS (Vairão, Portugal), where, in collaboration with internal and external researchers, I have been developing rodent models to study composite phenotypic evolution in variable and extreme environments.
Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Alexandra Morton Tyers

Citation names

  • Tyers, Alexandra M

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
DE16-E341-141A
ORCID iD
0000-0002-1153-1347
Google Scholar ID
Alexandra Tyers

Email addresses

  • alexandra.tyers@cibio.up.pt (Professional)

Addresses

  • CIBIO - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, nº 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal (Professional)

Knowledge fields

  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Evolutionary Biology
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Evolutionary Biology
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Zoology
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Ecology

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
English (Mother tongue)
Portuguese Intermediate (B1) Upper intermediate (B2) Intermediate (B1) Advanced (C1)
German Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2)
Education
Degree Classification
2009/11 - 2014/01
Concluded
Evolutionary Biology (Doctor)
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
"Divergence and speciation in East African haplochromine cichlids" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2008/09 - 2009/09
Concluded
MRes Natural Sciences - Ecology (Master)
Major in Ecology
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
"Reproductive Isolation in the Pseudotropheus Zebra Species Complex: The Search for Speciation Traits" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
Distinction
2003/09 - 2007/07
Concluded
BSc (Hons) Behavioural Biology (Bachelor)
Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom
"The effect of light pollution on the foraging times of small diurnal passerines" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2.1
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution
Employer
2023/05/01 - Current Postdoc (Research) Universidade do Porto Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Portugal
2020/02 - 2021/05 Postdoc (Research) Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2018/02 - 2021/05 Science and Technology Management Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2014/10 - 2017/09 Postdoc (Research) University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2014/02 - 2014/06 Postdoc (Research) University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2017 - 2017 Cichlid fish dietary analysis by gut meta-barcoding
NBAF1046
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)
NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, United Kingdom
NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility
Concluded
2016 - 2016 Behaviour, personality, & speciation
na
Supervisor
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Concluded
2011 - 2011 Inter-specific differences in cichlid fish auditory cues
na
PhD Student Fellow
Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Banco Santander International
Concluded

Contract

Designation Funders
2020 - 2021 Killifish evolutionary ecology, microbiome, and ageing
Post-doc
Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
Cancelled
2015 - 2017 MolEcoFish project - molecular ecology to inform conservation of Tanzanian freshwater fish
Post-doc
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Leverhulme Trust
Concluded
2014 - 2017 Genome-wide analysis of the evolution of new species
na
Post-doc
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Leverhulme Trust
Ongoing
2012 - 2014 Adaptive radiations of cichlid fish in Tanzanian crater lakes
na
PhD Student Fellow
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
Ongoing

Other

Designation Funders
2016 - 2016 Malawi cichlid genomes project
Post-doc
Ongoing
Outputs

Publications

Journal article
  1. Xu, Alan; Teefy, Bryan B.; Lu, Ryan J.; Nozownik, Séverine; Tyers, Alexandra M.; Valenzano, Dario R.; Benayoun, Bérénice A.. "Transcriptomes of aging brain, heart, muscle, and spleen from female and male African turquoise killifish". Scientific Data 10 1 (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02609-x.
    10.1038/s41597-023-02609-x
  2. Grégoire Vernaz; Alan G. Hudson; M. Emília Santos; Bettina Fischer; Madeleine Carruthers; Asilatu H. Shechonge; Nestory P. Gabagambi; et al. "Epigenetic divergence during early stages of speciation in an African crater lake cichlid fish". Nature Ecology & Evolution 6 12 (2022): 1940-1951. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01894-w.
    10.1038/s41559-022-01894-w
  3. AM Tyers; Gavan M. Cooke; George F. Turner. "Rare morph Lake Malawi mbuna cichlids benefit from reduced aggression from con- and hetero-specifics". Journal of Evolutionary Biology 34 11 (2021): 1678-1690. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13929.
    10.1111/jeb.13929
  4. Grégoire Vernaz; Milan Malinsky; Hannes Svardal; Mingliu Du; Alexandra M. Tyers; M. Emilia Santos; Richard Durbin; et al. "Mapping epigenetic divergence in the massive radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes". Nature Communications 12 1 (2021): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26166-2.
    10.1038/s41467-021-26166-2
  5. Rongfeng Cui; Alexandra M. Tyers; Zahabiya Juzar Malubhoy; Sadie Wisotsky; Stefano Valdesalici; Elvina Henriette; Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond; Dario Riccardo Valenzano. "Ancestral transoceanic colonization and recent population reduction in a nonannual killifish from the Seychelles archipelago". Molecular Ecology 30 14 (2021): 3610-3623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.15982.
    10.1111/mec.15982
  6. Asilatu Shechonge; Benjamin P. Ngatunga; Stephanie J. Bradbeer; Julia J. Day; Jennifer J. Freer; Antonia G. P. Ford; Jonathan Kihedu; et al. "Widespread colonisation of Tanzanian catchments by introduced Oreochromis tilapia fishes: the legacy from decades of deliberate introduction". Hydrobiologia 832 1 (2019): 235-253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3597-9.
    10.1007/s10750-018-3597-9
  7. Milan Malinsky; Hannes Svardal; Alexandra M. Tyers; Eric Miska; Martin J. Genner; George F. Turner; Richard Durbin. "Whole-genome sequences of Malawi cichlids reveal multiple radiations interconnected by gene flow". Nature Ecology & Evolution 2 12 (2018): 1940-1955. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0717-x.
    10.1038/s41559-018-0717-x
  8. Robin M Tinghitella; Alycia C R Lackey; Michael Martin; Peter D Dijkstra; Jonathan P Drury; Robert Heathcote; Jason Keagy; Elizabeth S C Scordato; AM Tyers. "On the role of male competition in speciation: a review and research agenda". Behavioral Ecology 29 4 (2018): 783-797. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arx151.
    10.1093/beheco/arx151
  9. Tinghitella, Robin M; Lackey, Alycia C R; Martin, Michael D; Dijkstra, Peter D; Drury, Jonathan P; Heathcote, Robert J P; Keagy, Jason; Scordato, Elizabeth S C; Tyers, Alexandra M. "A major player need not be the only player in speciation: a response to comments on Tinghitella et al.". Behavioral Ecology 29 4 (2018): 802-803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary051.
    10.1093/beheco/ary051
  10. Erik Verheyen; R. Abila; P. Akoll; C. Albertson; D. Antunes; T. Banda; R. Bills; et al. "Oil extraction imperils Africa's Great Lakes". Science 354 6312 (2016): 561-562. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aal1722.
    10.1126/science.aal1722
  11. Milan Malinsky; Richard J. Challis; Alexandra M. Tyers; Stephan Schiffels; Yohey Terai; Benjamin P. Ngatunga; Eric A. Miska; et al. "Genomic islands of speciation separate cichlid ecomorphs in an East African crater lake". Science 350 6267 (2015): 1493-1498. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aac9927.
    10.1126/science.aac9927
  12. Belinda M. Tonkins; Alexandra M. Tyers; Gavan Cooke. "Cuttlefish in captivity: An investigation into housing and husbandry for improving welfare". Applied Animal Behaviour Science 168 (2015): 77-83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.04.004.
    10.1016/j.applanim.2015.04.004
  13. Alexandra M. Tyers; David Bavin; Gavan M. Cooke; Catherine Griggs; George F. Turner. "Peripheral Isolate Speciation of a Lake Malawi Cichlid Fish from Shallow Muddy Habitats". Evolutionary Biology 41 3 (2014): 439-451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11692-014-9277-4.
    10.1007/s11692-014-9277-4
  14. Alexandra M. Tyers; George F. Turner. "Signal and preference divergence among populations of the non-endemic basal Lake Malawi cichlid fishAstatotilapia calliptera(Perciformes: Cichlidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 110 1 (2013): 180-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bij.12105.
    10.1111/bij.12105
Preprint
  1. Hannah Munby; Tyler Linderoth; Bettina Fischer; Mingliu Du; Grégoire Vernaz; Alexandra M. Tyers; Benjamin P. Ngatunga; et al. "Differential use of multiple genetic sex determination systems in divergent ecomorphs of an African crater lake cichlid". 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.05.455235.
    10.1101/2021.08.05.455235
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2021 Astatotilapia (calliptera) diversity in Tanzanian crater lakes. Italian Cichlid Association public lecture series
Italian Cichlid Association,
2017 The importance of Tanzania for understanding haplochromine diversity Biodiversity, species identification, & stocking of tilapiine cichlid fishes workshop
Sokoine University of Agriculture (Morogoro, Tanzania)
2017 Standardised sampling & preservation methods maximise ability to detect genetic & morphological variation & compare across studies (workshop). Biodiversity, species identification, & stocking of tilapiine cichlid fishes workshop
Sokoine University of Agriculture (Morogoro, Tanzania)
2017 Evolution of new species; a genome wide analysis Cichlid Science conference
Charles University Prague (Prague, Czech Republic)
2016/06/16 Evolution of new species; a genome wide analysis Fisheries Society of the British Isles; Fish, Genes & Genomes symposium
Bangor University (Bangor, United Kingdom)
2016 Divergence with gene-flow (in East African crater lake cichlids). Environment, Ecology & Evolution seminar series
University of Sheffield (Sheffield, United Kingdom)
2016 Behaviour, competition, & speciation (haplochromine cichlid fish). International Society for Behavioural Ecology; Male Competition & Speciation satellite symposium
Exeter University (Exeter, United Kingdom)
2015 Divergence with gene-flow in African crater lake cichlids Cichlid Science conference
Karl Franzens University (Graz, Austria)
2015 Divergence with gene-flow in African crater lake cichlids; mate choice on a phenotypic/genotypic continuum Wales Ecology & Evolution Network meeting
Wales Ecology & Evolution Network (Newtown, United Kingdom)
2013/09/10 Allopatric divergence & speciation of Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlid fish. Cichlid Science conference
Bangor University (Bangor, United Kingdom)
2012/04/12 Speciation in Malawi cichlids. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour conference
Aberystwyth University (Aberystwyth, United Kingdom)

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role)
Institution / Organization
2018 - 2018 Nothobranchius symposium (2018 - 2018)
Symposium (Member of the Organising Committee)
Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2014 - 2014 Hidden Worlds Exhibition (public outreach event) (2014 - 2014)
Exhibition (Member of the Organising Committee)
Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2013 - 2013 Cichlid Science conference (2013 - 2013)
Conference (Co-organisor)
Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event
Event name
Institution / Organization
2023/12/18 - 2023/12/19 Poster presentation: Flexible microbiome and plastic pace-of-life strategy among and within desert adapted rodents
Conference
XIX ENBE Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Association for Evolutionary Biology
Associação Portuguesa de Biologia Evolutiva, Portugal
2023/12/07 - 2023/12/09 Poster presentation: Flexible microbiome and plastic pace-of-life strategy among and within desert adapted rodents
Conference
xx Congress of the Portuguese Ethological Society
Sociedade Portuguesa de Etologia, Portugal
2021 - 2021 Attendee (online)
Conference
Cichlid Science conference
University of Cambridge Department of Zoology, United Kingdom
2018 - 2018 Poster: Killifishing in Zimbabwe; Nothobranchius ecology & evolution.
Symposium
Nothobranchius symposium
Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2017 - 2017 Poster: Evolution of new species; genome-wide analysis of cichlid speciation.
Conference
African Great Lakes conference: Conservation & Development in a Changing Climate
2017 - 2017 Attendee.
Symposium
Bangor Genomics symposium
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
2016 - 2016 Attendee.
Meeting
ButterFish meeting (genomics of divergence & speciation)
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2012 - 2012 Attendee.
Conference
Cichlid Science conference
Associatie KU Leuven, Belgium
2011 - 2011 Poster: Speciation in Lake Malawi cichlid fish; allopatric divergence, reproductive isolation & hybridisation.
Conference
Bangor University post-graduate conference.
University College of North Wales, United Kingdom
2010 - 2010 Poster: Assortative mating among allopatric Lake Malawi mbuna
Conference
Cichlid Science conference
Universität Basel, Switzerland

Scientific expedition

Activity description Institution / Organization
2024/09/25 - 2024/11/12 Chile: Research visit & field expedition. Metabolism-behaviour co-expression in the monito del monte Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Portugal

University Austral , Chile
2023/08/14 - 2023/08/31 Morocco: Divergence of bioenergetic strategies in arid-adapted rodents Universidade do Porto Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Portugal
2019/03 - 2019/04 Zimbabwe: Killifish sampling in the Gonarezhou National Park Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2018/04 - 2018/04 Zimbabwe: Killifish sampling in the Gonarezhou National Park and exploration of other areas. Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie des Alterns, Germany
2017/06 - 2017/07 Tanzania: Exploration of crater lakes and rivers in the Southern Highlands and mormyrid sampling across the country. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2017/01 - 2017/01 Tanzania: Tilapia and haplochromine diversity/distributions sampling across Tanzania. [See Shechonge et al. 2019]. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2016/04 - 2016/05 Tanzania: Sampling at crater lakes Masoko and Kingiri. Live fish collecitons for aquarium studies, and preserved samples for epigenetics projects. [See Munby, Linderoth, et al. 2021; Vernaz et al. 2022]. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2016/02 - 2016/03 Malawi: Fish collections for the Malawi Cichlid Genomes Project. [See Malinsky, Svardal et al. 2018; Vernaz et al. 2021]. University of Cambridge Department of Genetics, United Kingdom
2015/07 - 2015/08 Tanzania: Sampling crater lakes in the Southern Highlands. Student expedition. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2015/04 - 2015/04 Tanzania: Behavioural observations and sample colleciton in crater lake Masoko in the Astatotilapia breeding season. [See Malinsky, Challis, et al. 2015]. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2015/03 - 2015/03 Tanzania: Exploration / survey of crater lakes in the Southern Highlands during the rainy season (breeding season). Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom
2010/07 - 2010/07 Malawi: Behavioural observations and collections of cichlid fish in Lake Malawi National Park. [See Tyers et al. 2021]. Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, United Kingdom