Joan J. Soto-Angel

I am a marine biologist and biosystematist with a wide interest in both the ecological and evolutionary significance of life cycles in the animal kingdom, as well as the patterns of marine diversity and diversification in the polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic). I often work with hydrozoans –a little-known group of animals related to corals–, but my research also includes other understudied marine animals such as ctenophores (aka the comb jellyfish), crabs, and sharks. As a MSCA postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Natural History from the University Museum, I am currently studying the phenomenon of bipolarity (i.e. geographic distributions of animals in both the Arctic and the Antarctic) from a life-cycle point of view.

I like nature, animal diversity, scuba diving, and natural photography, and I particularly enjoy bringing science to the general public through diverse outreach activities. At UiB, I work as the PI of Project POLE2POLE, a Horizon2020 project within the framework of the MSCActions, besides being a WP leader for the outreach activities of ParaZoo, a recently funded project that focuses on fish parasites living inside marine zooplankton.