Martin Helmkampf

Martin Helmkampf is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Ecology at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen, Germany, specializing in evolutionary genomics and phylogenetics within the Working Group Fish Ecology and Evolution.

His research centers on evolutionary radiations, employing genome-scale datasets and bioinformatic tools to investigate genomic drivers of diversification. Current work focuses on Caribbean hamlet fish color pattern evolution, while historical studies examine the Cambrian explosion and social insect radiation. Helmkampf integrates phylogenetic analysis with comparative genomics to trace how genomic changes shape organismal evolution across timescales.

As part of ZMT's Fish Ecology and Evolution working group, he analyzes phylogenetic relationships in hamlet populations and genomic differences between radiating hamlets and non-radiating serranid fishes, leveraging high-throughput sequencing to uncover mechanisms behind rapid speciation events in marine environments.