Expertise:
Evolutionary Biology, Biology, Sea Slugs, Climate Change Impact on Oceans, Taxonomy, Phylogenetics, Deep Sea Organisms, Invasive SpeciesÁngel Valdés’ research focuses on the systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of sea slugs. A diverse group of almost exclusively marine, hermaphroditic organisms, sea slugs are closely related to pulmonate gastropods (terrestrial snails and slugs) and display remarkable adaptations to different environmental conditions in the ocean. About 6,000 species are known worldwide but new species are constantly been discovered and named. A particularly rich source of new species is the deep sea, which remains largely unexplored. Valdés uses morphological characteristics and molecular markers to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships of different lineages of sea slugs and shed light on the evolution of this group. He is also interested in the description of new species and cataloging the biological diversity of these fascinating organisms.
Climate change is affecting the biology of sea slugs worldwide. Valdés uses molecular data to investigate how climate change is altering the distribution of some species, facilitating invasion of new regions in some cases, or resulting in population declines in others.
Selected Publications:
- With C.J. King, R.A. Ellingson, J.H.R. Goddard and R.F. Johnson, “Range expansion or range shift? Population genetics and historic range data analyses of the predatory benthic sea slug Phidiana hiltoni (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia),” Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 118: 1–20, 2019
- “Northeast Pacific benthic shelled sea slugs,” Zoosymposia, 13: 242–304, 2019
- With L. Lundsten and N.G. Wilson, “Five new deep-sea species of nudibranchs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Cladobranchia) from the Northeast Pacific,” Zootaxa, 4526: 401–433, Supplementary documents, 2018
- With E. Bazzicalupo, F. Crocetta, K. Estores-Pacheco, H. Golestani, H. Bazairi, S. Giacobbe, A. Jaklin, D. Poursanidis, S. Chandran and J.L. Cervera Currado, “Population genetics of Bursatella leachii (De Blainville, 1817) and implications for the origin of the Mediterranean population,” Helgoland Marine Research,72: 19 doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s10152-018-0521-7, 2018
- With T.M. Gosliner and D.W.Behrens, “Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification – Indo-Pacific, Second Edition,” New World Publications, 451 pp., 2018
- With P.J. Krug, N.L.W.S. Wong, M. Medina and T.M. Gosliner, “Cryptic speciation yields remarkable mimics: a new genus of sea slugs that masquerade as toxic algae (Caulerpa spp.),” Zoologica Scripta, https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12310, 2018
- With S. Medrano, P.J. Krug, T.M. Gosliner and A.B. Kumar, “Systematics of Polybranchia Pease, 1860 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Sacoglossa) based on molecular and morphological data,” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly050, 2018
- With P. J. Krug and J.S. Berriman, “Phylogenetic systematics of the shelled sea slug genus Oxynoe Rafinesque, 1814 (Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa), with integrative descriptions of seven new species,” Invertebrate Systematics, 32: 950-1003, doi:https://doi.org/10.1071/IS17080, 2018
- With E.M. Merlo, K.A. Milligan, N.B. Sheets, C.J. Neufeld, T.M. Eastham, K.A.L. Estores-Pacheco, D. Steinke, P.D.N. Hebert and R.C. Wyeth, “Range extension for the region of sympatry between the nudibranchs Hermissenda opalescens and Hermissenda crassicornis in the northeastern Pacific,” FACETS 3: 764-776 doi:10.1139/facets-2017-0060, 2018
- With J.S. Berriman, R.A. Ellingson, J.D. Awbrey, D.M. Rico, N.G. Wilson, A. Aguilar, D.G. Herbert, Y.M. Hirano, C.D. Trowbridge and P.J. Krug, “A biting commentary: Integrating tooth characters with molecular data doubles known species diversity in a lineage of sea slugs that consume “killer algae,” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.02.027, 2018
Interviews:
- “7 Real-Life Dragons That Live Yup to Their Names,” National Geographic, January 28, 2017
- “Why Sea Slugs Dispose of Their Own Penises,” National Geographic, February 13, 2013
- “Meet the Adorable ‘Sea Bunny’ Taking over the Internet,” National Geographic, July 23, 2015
- “Attack of the Giant Snails Nude Beach Party,” Phil Hulett and Friends show, KFWB radio, July 14, 2014 (At 33:15)
Education:
B.S., Biological Sciences (Zoology), Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, 1993
Ph.D., Biology, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, 1996
Languages:
English, Spanish