H.P. Comes

H.P. Comes is a Professor at the University of Salzburg, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, within the Department of Environment & Biodiversity. He leads the AG Comes research group focused on plant evolutionary biology and molecular ecology.

His research spans three primary areas: Phylogenetics, where his team reconstructs evolutionary relationships among plant species using DNA sequence data to study diversification patterns in groups like Bulbophyllum orchids, Gentiana sect. Calathianae, and Globularia; Phylogeography, where they use molecular markers to investigate speciation and hybridization in response to environmental changes in species like Nigella, Iris sect. Oncocyclus, and Senecio spp.; and Molecular Ecology, focusing on genomic processes driving plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic environments.

Comes leads or collaborates on several significant research projects including an FWF-funded project (LIVE) with U. Ruprecht studying crustose lichens in polar regions, a long-term collaboration with Chinese researchers (Y.X. Qiu, P. Li, C.-X. Fu) examining Tertiary relict trees endemic to East Asia, and collaborations with A. Hörger and S. Dötterl on plant-pathogen co-evolution and floral scent variation in Arum maculatum.

His work has important implications for understanding species persistence and adaptation under climate change, particularly for plants in fragmented or human-disturbed habitats.