A morning with Gerard Talavera

An understanding of nature opens many doors to understanding the world we live in, and the study of butterflies is no exception. When we think of butterflies, images of brightly coloured wings immediately come to mind, but beyond their aesthetic qualities, what do we know about butterflies? What can these species tell us about our planet?

Gerard Talavera is a researcher at the Institut Botànic de Barcelona and studies the diversity and the behaviour of butterfly migrations, work that has taken him out of the laboratory to follow migration routes and understand how they are changing. Variations in the behaviour of butterfly migrations, which, for some species, involves traveling over 4,000 kilometres, is a very relevant indicator in understanding the consequences of the climate crisis. Similarly, studying and understanding the evolution of the more than 20,000 existing species of butterflies offers extraordinary insights into our planet’s biodiversity and its enormous value.

In this session, through a series of photographs, Gerard Talavera will tell us about his travels through nature studying butterflies, and he will talk about the importance of learning about nature to get a better understanding of the world we live in and to take on global challenges such as the climate crisis.

This activity has been organised within the Barcelona Evolution Day programm and in the context of the international meeting EvoKE BCN 21, Evolution everywhere, which will take place in Barcelona from 22 to 24 November.