Matias Köhler

Evolutionary biologist (PhD, Major: Botany), post-doc associate at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). My research focuses on the understanding of evolutionary relationships of plants through the use of molecular phylogenetic methods as well as morphology and cytology testing questions regarding the biogeographic history, morphological evolution, origins of species and species boundaries within groups. Opuntia (Cactaceae), specifically southern South American species, has been the focus of this work as the group exhibits a high frequency of hybridization often associated with polyploidy. I've also dedicated to contribute with the knowledge of Cactaceae, in a wide sense, in the Southern South America, and with floristic studies at local scale. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)