PhD in Biology and Professor at the Department of Functional and Evolutionary Biology in Almería (Spain) at the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC). My research lines have been focussed on host-parasite interactions, signalling, and phenotypic characteristics that function in contexts of sexual and parent-offspring communication. Studies on host-parasite interactions were centred in detecting costs of brood parasitism for hosts and in the evolution of antiparasitic defences and counter-defences for hosts and parasites, respectively. I have also worked on explaining the evolution of immune responses by using comparative and experimental approaches, while my research line on sexual selection is mainly focussed on scenarios of post-mating sexual selection that imply differential investment in reproduction. During the last decade, mi research lines have converged into the study of the role of microorganisms in different evolutionary and ecological contexts including brood parasitism, defences against microparasites, and sexual signalling