Venom... it is a substance that many animals produce, including rattlesnakes, that helps them to survive by assisting with capturing their prey. Here, you will learn all about how ecology can influence the evolution of venom in rattlesnake populations from the Gulf of California. We interview lead author Samuel Hirst and discuss his recently published manuscript titled "Island Biogeography and competition drive rapid venom complexity evolution across rattlesnakes," published in the peer-reviewed journal Evolution. We discuss how ecology and evolution interact, which leads to the traits observed in living populations today.

The paper is linked here.

You can follow Samuel Hirst's work through the following sources:

Lab website: https://www.margreslab.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/SamuelRHirst/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hirsticane/

Bluesky: @hirsticane.bsky.social