Hugo Gruson

: Published: 19 September 2016

PhD in evolutionary biology on "Origin and functions of iridescent colours in hummingbirds"

Although well-spread in marine organisms, iridescent colours are rare and restricted to a small number of groups on terrestrial animals. Yet, one group displays striking iridescent colours: hummingbirds. Iridescence in hummingbirds has reached an astonishing level of complexity and lead to highly reflective and highly directional colours.

This raises a large number of questions: What are the properties of the nanostructures responsible for iridescence? How did iridescent colours evolve in hummingbirds and what consequences does it have? What are the links between iridescence and other common ecological phenomena: competition, habitat filtering, sexual selection, etc.?