Ecology and Evolution

Islands have been considered as the best natural laboratories for the study of plant and animal evolution. Their evolutionary uniqueness and isolation make island dwellers prone to extinction in a scenario of climatic change and biodiversity crisis. Insular taxa form simplified communities, where ecological relationships and evolutionary processes can be studied more easily than on the continent. The Balearic Islands are particularly vulnerable to global change and human perturbations. Because of their reduced territory, their rich biodiversity (555 animal and 130 plant endemic taxa) is threatened by loss of habitats and introduction of alien species. The research group covers a broad expertise in taxonomic, biogeographic, evolutionary and ecological issues of insular biotas. The methodological approach is multidisciplinary, combining morphological, distributional, population and molecular data to improve our understanding and promote the conservation of insular unique biotas.