COLBY COLLEGE • June 14, 2022
Chris Moore, assistant professor of biology at Colby College, is collecting data for the largest study on evolutionary biology ever conducted. He has gathered clover samples in parks and other public spaces along a 20-mile transect stretching from urban Portland to rural Cumberland, then tested the plants for hydrogen cyanide, a compound some plant species use to deter hungry herbivores. His findings joined those of 288 other contributing authors, reporting data from 160 cities worldwide. “The key objective was to look at how cities affect evolution,” Moore said reflecting on the clover study, which recently made the cover of the prestigious journal Science, coincidentally, on St. Patrick’s Day.