Antonio Carvajal-Rodríguez
Antonio is a Professor in Genetics at the University of Vigo since May 2024, working in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology. His research combines information theory with evolutionary theory to develop new frameworks for understanding evolutionary processes and biological systems.
Over recent years, a unified approach has been developed that demonstrates how describing evolutionary processes in informational terms enables the modelling of complex phenomena in a way that facilitates statistical testing and predictive modelling.
Research Trajectory
Over a consolidated scientific career spanning more than a decade, significant contributions have been made to understanding:
Information-theoretic foundations of evolution – Developing unified theoretical frameworks that describe evolutionary processes through the lens of information theory, bridging previously separate biological disciplines
Sexual selection and non-random mating – Creating generalized statistics for both discrete and continuous traits, thereby unifying frameworks from different schools of thought
Integration of natural selection with information theory – Extending informational approaches to encompass adaptive evolution and genomic patterns of selection
Holobiont dynamics and host-microbiota evolution – Understanding complex biological systems (holobionts) as information-handling units operating under selection
Computational methods and statistical innovation – Developing software tools and predictive models that enable empirical testing of theoretical evolutionary predictions
Research Interests
A focus has been placed on several interconnected research areas:
Information-Theoretic Approaches to Evolution – Developing theoretical frameworks that describe evolutionary processes using information theory
Sexual Selection & Non-Random Mating – Creating statistics for discrete and continuous traits, unified across different biological schools
Adaptive Evolution – Integration of natural selection into information-theoretic models
Holobiont Dynamics – Understanding evolution of host-microbiota systems as information-handling units
Computational Biology – Development of software tools and statistical methods for empirical applications
Career Metrics
Publications SCI
Projects as IP
Supervised
Doctoral Thesis
Total Citations (Google Scholar)
H index (Google Scholar)
Software tools developed
Scientific production
Selected publications
Find below a selection of peer‑reviewed journal articles published over recent years.
Phenotypic divergence and genomic architecture between parallel ecotypes at two different stages of speciation in a marine snail
Francesca Raffini, Aurélien De Jode, Kerstin Johannesson, Rui Faria, Zuzanna B. Zagrodzka, Anja M. Westram, Juan Galindo, Emilio Rolán-Alvarez & Roger K. Butlin. Molecular Ecology, 2025.
Temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of a marine snail from NW Spai
Gefaell, J., González-Vazquez, H., Galindo, J., & E. Rolán-Alvarez. Current Zoology, 2023.
Shell color polymorphisms in marine gastropods
Gefaell, Galindo & Rolán-Alvarez. Evolutionary Applications, 2022.
Mate choice based on body size similarity in sexually dimorphic populations causes strong sexual selection
López-Cortegano, E., Carpena, C., Carvajal-Rodríguez, A. & E. Rolán-Alvarez. Animal Behavior, 2020.
Geographic and temporal variation of distinct intracellular endosymbiont strains of Wolbachia sp. in the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus: a frequency-dependent mechanism?
Martínez, P., Rolán-Alvarez E., del Mar Pérez M., Arroyo-Yebras, F., Carpena-Catoira, C., Carvajal-Rodríguez, A., & J.L. Bella. Microbial Ecology, 2019.
The causal relationship between sexual selection and sexual size dimorphism: a perspective from marine gastropods
Ng TPT., Rolán-Alvarez E, Saltin S., Davies MS., Estévez D., Stafford R. & GA.Williams. Animal Behavior, 2019.
The scale-of-choice effect and how estimates of assortative mating in the wild can be biased due to heterogeneous samples
Rolán-Alvarez, E., Carvajal-Rodríguez, A., de Coo, A., Cortés, B., Estévez, D., Ferreira, M., González, R., & A.D. Briscoe. Evolution, 2015.
The contribution of the genus Littorina to the field of Evolutionary Ecology
Rolán-Alvarez, E., Austin, C.J. & E. Boulding. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 2015.
Parallel evolution of local adaptation and reproductive isolation in the face of gene flow
Butlin, R., Saura, M., Charrier, G., Jackson, B., Andre, C., Caballero, A., Coyne, J.A., Galindo, J., Grahame, J., Hollander, J., Kemppainen, P., Panova, M., Martínez-Fernández, M., Quesada, H., Johannesson, K. & Rolán-Alvarez, E. Molecular Ecology, 2012.
