Microcosm of Life’s Evolution: “Evolution Canyon” Project
The “Evolution Canyon” model (“EC”) on Mount Carmel, Israel, is a microscale ecological theater examined in the mountains of Carmel (“EC” I), the Galilee (“EC” II), and the Negev (“EC” III) where the African biota meet European biota and local tests are conducted in an
attempt to discover global biodiversity and genomic diversity patterns. In particular, the effects of abiotic and biotic stress factors on evolution in action, including the twin evolutionary processes of adaptation and speciation, are being extensively and intensively studied. These include biodiversity studies across phylogeny from microorganisms to mammals and the evaluation of the relative importance of the forces driving evolution (mutation, recombination, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection). To date (December 2008), about 2,500 species have been identified in “Evolution Canyon” I, more than 1,000 species in “Evolution Canyon” II, and several hundred species in “Evolution Canyon” III, including many species new to science for Israel. Model organisms are currently under in-depth study to evaluate the effects of stress on the evolutionary process. The levels and interslope divergence in natural populations of genetic polymorphisms (at the protein and
DNA levels), mutations, recombination, gene conversion, adaptive complexes, stress genes, and incipient sympatric differentiation across life are actively investigated.
