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Researcher
Thierry Backeljau
- Research Expertise:My research focusses on taxonomy, phylogeny and population genetics of animals, and in particular of molluscs. Yet, other taxa, such as flatworms (Platyhelminthes), ring worms (Annelida) and millipedes (Diplopoda) are equally dealt with. The geographic areas of my research include Belgium and Europe, Macaronesia (Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira and Cape Verde Islands), Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Cuba and Benin. My research is based on a combination of morphological and molecular techniques. My interest goes particularly to the problem of speciation in general and more specifically to that in hermaphrodites. In addition, I hane a strong interest in the practical aspects of taxonomy (e.g. zoological nomenclature) and evolutionary thinking. As such I defend the essential societal relevance of taxonomy and I'm active with respect to the “evolution vs creationism” problem. I regularly give seminars and publish papers in this latter domain. Next to all this, I'm also very interested in the problem of introduced and invasive animal species, with a particular focus on land snails. In this context, I'm editor for the “EASIN – European Alien Species Information Network” program and I lead a species identification team that, upon request, identifies specimens and organismal fragments (see: A barcoding facility for organisms and tissues of policy concern http://bopco.myspecies.info/). Linked to my function at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, my research is strongly connected to natural history collections.
- Keywords:POPULATION GENETICS, PHYLOGENY, EVOLUTION, NATURAL SELECTION, EXOTIC SPECIES, NON-VERTEBRATES, TAXONOMY, SPECIES DIVERSITY, Biomedical sciences (incl. biochemistry)
- Disciplines:Animal genetics, Animal systematics and taxonomy, Invertebrate biology, Invasion biology, Biogeography and phylogeography, Phylogeny and comparative analysis, Speciation, Population, ecological and evolutionary genetics
- Research techniques:The techniques that I'm familiar with include: anatomical dissection (Gastropoda), morphometrics, protein electrophoresis, DNA extraction, PCR, DNA sequencing, DNA fragment analysis (RAPD, RFLP, SSCP, microsatellites, …), cluster techniques, phylogenetic and population genetic data treatment and interpretation, species identification and delimitation.
- Users of research expertise:General public, journalists (TV, radio, printed media), policy makers, forensic investigators, customs, CITES-functionaries, food agency, pest managers, biologists, educators, commercial sector, citizen scientists, natural history societies, collectors, ...