On the occasion of the International Day for Biodiversity, the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE; CSIC-UPF) joins, once again, in the global commemoration led by the United Nations, this year under the theme:

“Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development”.

At IBE, we highlight the research of our groups who actively work to decipher evolution, discover life, and conserve the planet's biodiversity.

II Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Meeting

On May 22, IBE and the Balearic Biodiversity Centre of the University of the Balearic Islands (CBB-UIB) will organize the second edition of the Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Meeting in Palma (Mallorca).
The meeting aims to jointly address the major challenges the scientific community faces in the context of the global biodiversity crisis, contributing to the planet's well-being. Learn more.

Evolution and genomics for biodiversity

Biodiversity is one of the major research axes at IBE, as shown by the following projects:

The 8 Magnificent of the Multicellgenome Lab at IBE

According to the latest estimates, we still do not know 80% of the planet's species, most invisible to our eyes, such as protists.
With environmental DNA sequencing, the Multicellgenome Lab at IBE is deciphering the diversity of these microbes and leading research on the so-called 8 Magnificent. 

Protists with the Laboratory of Biology and Ecology of Abundant Protists

The laboratory led by Daniel Richter investigates the most abundant protists on the planet, a group still little known but potentially key in the marine trophic chain.
Protists represent a significant part of the biomass of plankton, and the IBE team is working to cultivate and identify them for the first time. More information.

Genomics for Global Biodiversity

The United Nations recognizes the fundamental role of open digital genetic information for conservation.
Projects like the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) aim to catalog the genomes of all eukaryotic species on the planet.
From Catalonia, the Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project (CBP) actively contributes, with Javier del Campo, IBE researcher, as co-chair.
Additionally, it is estimated that 1 in 5 European species (out of a total of 200,000) is at risk of extinction. The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) project works to characterize global genomic biodiversity, with researcher Rosa Fernández as a Scientific Officer.

Genomics and amphibian conservation

The group of Systematics, Biogeography, and Evolution of Reptiles and Amphibians, led by Salvador Carranza, has applied genomics to study Europe's most threatened amphibian.
Thanks to this research, a new subspecies has been described: we now know that the Montseny newt (Calotriton arnoldi) is not a single species, but two subspecies that need to be conserved.

Western Montseny brook newt. Credit: Adrián Talavera.

Health and conservation of mammals

The Phylogeny & Phylogeography of Mammals Lab, led by José Castresana, develops techniques for non-invasive monitoring of endangered species to understand their health.
One example is the Iberian desman (Desmán Ibérico), a species recently added to the list of critically endangered species in Spain, in which hidden microbial threats are detected from fecal samples, using metagenomic tools.

Evolution and genomics of primates

The group led by Tomàs Marquès-Bonet studies the genomics of primates to better understand human evolution, advance biomedical research, and conserve wildlife.
They do this through non-invasive samples from difficult-to-study populations.
By understanding the genomes of other species, we can learn what makes us human and which genes influence our health.

White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus unicolor) near Manaus, Brazil. Credit: Rebecca Still.

The Zoonomia Project

Researcher Arcadi Navarro, along with Tomàs Marquès-Bonet, has participated in the Zoonomia Project, which has sequenced the genomes of 240 mammal species to identify genetic clues for global health.

This news has been shared in collaboration with Ana Lozano, recipient of the III CSIC-BBVA Foundation Scientific Communication Grants. Also featured on X.