Special Exhibition: evolution happens!

The last station of "evolution happens!" will be at the Bündner Naturmuseum in Chur from September 12, 2024, to January 19, 2025.

The exhibition presents examples from wildlife biology, agriculture and medical science that exemplify how the rapid (genetic) diversification of individuals within populations shapes our everyday life making evolution perceptible around us.

Key messages of the exhibition:

• Evolution is a two-stage process: Evolutionary processes influence the survival and reproduction success of individuals and thus change the genetic composition of an entire population.
• Evolution can be a rapid process: It is observable not only over millions of years, but right here and right now.
• Evolution is never completed and not directional, evolution does not signify optimization.

Our special exhibition was on display at the Umwelt Arena Schweiz from Mai to October 2023, at the Naturmuseum Solothurn from November 2022 to April 2023, and at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich from June to November 2021, and in January / February 2022.

The contents of the exhibition were developed in collaboration with our URPP and several of the topics featured in ‘evolution happens!’ are actively investigated by members of the URPP Evolution:

Using findings from research on pathogen evolution, Alexandros Sotiropoulos demonstrates the evolutionary race between wheat and its fungal parasite wheat powdery mildew. Evolutionary aspects in the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria are explained with support from Rolf Kümmerli. How the interplay between pollinators and flowers shapes entire ecosystems is shown using research examples from Léa Frachon. Christine Grossen describes, why and how the reintroduction of the Alpine ibex to Switzerland caused today’s Alpine ibex population to struggle with distinct genetic shortcomings. Finally, in the outro animation, Urs Greber  highlights the role of evolutionary processes in the progress of the corona pandemic.