On Thursday, June 11, Dr. Emilio Rolán, researcher and professor of genetics at the University of Vigo, presented the talk “Shell color polymorphism in the sea snail Littorina fabalis: an evolutionary perspective” as part of the “Café con Sal” program.
The talk will unravel the biological processes responsible for the extreme shell color polymorphism observed in natural Galician populations of the intertidal snail Littorina fabalis. Beyond the well-known effect of selective predation by certain species, the research reveals an original process for which no similar example is known in nature: the tendency of individuals to mate with others of a different color than their own. The lecture explores this novel process, examining how it occurs and how it may have evolved.
Emilio Rolán currently holds a Ministry-funded basic research project titled “Causes and consequences of mate choice preference in natural populations,” which he co-directs with Dr. Antonio Carvajal and involves several researchers from the University of Vigo as well as from other international universities.
