Crafoord Prize in Biosciences
Lectures from the Crafoord Prize Symposia in Biosciences, hosted by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Exploring how new species originate — from ecological adaptation and natural selection to the genetic and chromosomal mechanisms that drive reproductive isolation.
7
Lectures
1
Laureate
6
Invited Speakers
2023
Symposium Year
About This Course
The Crafoord Prize in Biosciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to recognize outstanding contributions in the biological sciences — a field that complements the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Established in 1980 through a donation by Holger Crafoord, the prize is one of the most prestigious international awards in the life sciences.
The 2023 Crafoord Prize was awarded to Dolph Schluter(University of British Columbia, Canada) “for fundamental contributions to the understanding of adaptive radiation and ecological speciation.”
Schluter's pioneering research on threespine stickleback fish demonstrated how natural selection drives the formation of new species. His work showed that ecological factors — competition for resources, adaptation to different environments — are the primary engines of speciation, providing some of the strongest empirical evidence for Darwin's theory that species originate through natural selection.
Symposia
How Do Species Originate?
The 2023 Crafoord Prize Symposium brought together the laureate and six invited speakers to explore the mechanisms of speciation — from ecological adaptation in stickleback fish to parallel speciation in plants, fungi, and birds, and the role of chromosomal rearrangements in reproductive isolation.
Laureate: Dolph Schluter (University of British Columbia)
7 lectures including the laureate talk and invited presentations
What You'll Learn
Ecological Speciation
How divergent natural selection on ecological traits drives the evolution of reproductive isolation between populations.
Adaptive Radiation
The rapid diversification of a single lineage into multiple species adapted to different ecological niches.
Parallel Evolution
Independent evolution of similar traits and species in separate populations facing similar selection pressures.
Chromosomal Speciation
How structural genomic rearrangements (inversions, fusions) reduce gene flow and promote reproductive barriers.
Genetics of Speciation
The molecular and genetic basis of phenotypic divergence and reproductive incompatibilities between nascent species.
Hybrid Speciation
How hybridization between existing species can generate novel, reproductively isolated lineages with unique traits.
All lectures are sourced from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences YouTube channel.
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