Biodiversity conservation depends on precise knowledge of species, but some populations today have blurred boundaries that are difficult to define. It was against this backdrop that the HYAM (Hybridization and Adaptation in a Mediterranean Coastal City)supported by A*Midex and led by Alex Baumel (IMBE, BEEM team) and Didier Aurelle (MNHN). The starting point: studies carried out on germandrées (flowering plants) and gorgonians (marine animals) in the Calanques National Parkwhere some individuals escape traditional taxonomic classifications. HYAM is committed to exploring the genetic boundaries between species and the exchanges that cross them, in order to better understand the role of hybridisation and introgression in the adaptation, diversification and persistence of species. By examining the criteria for identification in a changing environment, this project raises a central question for contemporary biology: how can we name and protect biodiversity that is in the throes of change?
