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Centre for International Environmental Studies
26 April 2018

Tim Flannery: Europeans are the ultimate hybrid species

Scientist, explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery is preparing a book on the history of animals in Europe.

Scientist, explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery is preparing a book on the history of animals in Europe during his time as the Graduate Institute’s Fondation Segré Distinguished Visiting Professor.

“Europe is especially interesting thanks to its origins”, says Professor Flannery. “It started as an island archipelago at the junction of Asia, Africa and North America, and became a sort of a seat of exchange: species came and went more rapidly than anywhere else on the planet.”

“Europe is the place where evolution moves fastest and where hybridization, which offers species a chance to acquire new genes to adapt to new conditions, became very important. Representing a hybrid between Neanderthals and African people, Europeans are the ultimate hybrid species.”

Professor Flannery is based at the Graduate Institute’s Centre for International Environmental Studies, and teaches a course on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Negative Carbon Options for Interdisciplinary Masters students.

Watch a short video with Professor Flannery below.

Tim Flannery: Europeans are the ultimate hybrid species