Automorphic functions and resonances of Riemannian locally symmetric spaces are objects of common interest in various fields, most notably in number theory, spectral theory, harmonic analysis, and mathematical physics. In particular by results from the latter field it is well-known that these spectral entities are intimately related to geometric and dynamical properties of the symmetric space. The full extent of this relation and its consequences is still an active field of research. We will discuss some of our recent contributions to this area.