RapidEvolution

The RapidEvol project investigates how human-driven environmental change in the Anthropocene is triggering rapid evolutionary responses in animals, with a particular focus on the underexplored role of behavior in facilitating adaptation. Using an integrative approach that combines fieldwork, laboratory experiments, high-resolution phenotypic measurements, and next-generation genomic tools, the project examines rapid evolutionary changes in behavior, morphology, and physiology in response to major global change drivers such as urbanization, invasive species, and climate change.

The research centers on a well-documented predator–prey system involving the endemic Ibiza wall lizard (Podarcis pityusensis) and its invasive predator, the horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), a system that offers a rare opportunity to study rapid evolution in both prey and predator simultaneously. By comparing declining natural populations, thriving urban populations, and alien populations across different environments, the project aims to disentangle adaptive and non-adaptive processes shaping rapid evolution and to identify their genetic bases. Ultimately, RapidEvol will advance fundamental understanding of contemporary evolution while informing conservation strategies for Mediterranean ecosystems under accelerating global change.

Project PID2024-162951NB-I00 financed by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER, EU