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Science Study Shows Rapid Evolution Helped Wildflower Survive California Megadrought

Pre-drought genetic variation predicted which scarlet monkeyflower populations rebounded years later.

A stream in California is populated by monkeyflowers, which were studied in the newly published research.
The monkeyflower plants were grown in a lab from seeds collected from the wild.
Monkeyflower
A researcher works on one of the sites sampled for the study.

Overview

  • Researchers monitored 55 scarlet monkeyflower populations across California and Oregon for more than a decade and published the results in Science on March 12.
  • Using pre-drought seeds to set genetic baselines, whole-genome data showed rapid, climate-associated shifts during the 2012–2015 dry spell that preceded demographic rebounds in some sites.
  • Outcomes varied across the range, with several populations crashing or going extinct and three showing the strongest adaptation and recovery.
  • The study delivers the first full field documentation of evolutionary rescue in natural populations, strengthening evidence previously limited to labs or partial case studies.
  • Signals of adaptation align with differences in leaf stomata and carbon assimilation, with ongoing tests of longer-term fitness through 2025 and an emphasis on conserving genetic diversity and connectivity.