Eco-evo-devo and the diversification of adaptive traits. Patricia Beldade del Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia Oeiras Portugal.

Título: Eco-evo-devo and the diversification of adaptive traits.

Ponente: Patricia Beldade del Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Oeiras, Portugal.

Resumen (Abstract):

The diversity of shapes and colors in living organisms is the product of natural selection acting on phenotypic variants produced by development. Despite being universal, until recently, variation was seen more as a nuisance in experimental biology, where research typically focused on single (often inbred) laboratory strains of a handful of model organisms kept in constant (often very unnatural) laboratory environments. This situation is changing with the expansion of new disciplines that focus on the genetic basis of intra-specific variation and inter-species diversity, and on the role of the external environment in organismal development. My research uses butterfly wing patterns to explore the mechanisms involved in producing variation and diversity.