Article pnas

Finches were vital to the formulation of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. The size and shape of their beaks, highly suited to eating different types of seeds, helped him understand how an animal evolves to adapt to the ecological conditions of its ecosystem. The Galapagos Islands were an ideal laboratory for Darwin, but there was something he overlooked: was it only the finches that had evolved or had the seeds of the plants they fed on evolved a little too?

Climate change is making forests all over the world more vulnerable to drought, causing tree mortality episodes with serious ecological and social consequences. As yet, the traits of the vegetation replacing trees that have died as a result of drought are not known.