Dr. Joana Meier will establish South- and Central American ithomiine butterflies (393 known species) as a new study system for rapid adaptation and rapid evolution of new species. This group of butterflies shows large variation in the speed of diversification, whereby two genera stand out as being particularly fast in evolving new species. Dr. Joana Meier will test if her finding of an important role of hybridisation in cichlid fishes also applies to these rapidly speciating butterflies which would confirm the generality of her findings. In addition, she will test a multitude of other ecological and genomic factors that potentially drive the rapid speciation. By combining field work, genomics, bioinformatics, ecological and behavioural studies, she will take a highly integrative approach. Through collaborations, Dr. Joana Meier is also involved in studying similar questions in Swiss wall lizards, Hawaiian spiders, African daisies, and different groups of butterflies. Studying the same questions in different taxa will provide generalizable insights on factors facilitating rapid adaptation and speciation.
