Project

Using East African Zosterops to understand speciation and eco-evolutionary dynamics in rapidly changing environments

Code
3E007316
Duration
01 October 2016 → 30 September 2019
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Promotor
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Animal biology
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Tropical medicine
    • Tropical medicine
    • Tropical medicine
Keywords
evolutionary rescue co-evolutionary dynamics environmental niche
 
Project description

Natural selection is the key process of speciation and can act rapidly under environmental change. Habitat destruction, for instance, isolates populations that need to adapt to prevent extinction. Under these circumstances evolutionary rescue by related interacting species could promote adaptation. Using recently radiated Zosterops in Eastern Africa I want to study their eco-evolutionary dynamics under past and present environmental changes.