Carlos Manuel Herrera (Seville, 17 October 1952) is a Spanish biologist who works in the field of evolutionary ecology,[1] in particular plant–animal interactions.

Herrera's scientific career has been always associated with this institute, in which he served as Deputy Director and Chair of the Department of Evolutionary Ecology in the 1980s–90s.

He is involved in the preservation of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park (Jaén Province, southeastern Spain), he was a member of its Governing Board since its constitution in 1986 until 2022, and since 1978 has spent most of his time conducting field research there.

[4] He was also one of the first to appreciate the importance of phylogenetic inertia and historical contingency to understand coevolution between plants and animals, and "looked at comparative data differently and asked whether associations among characters might reflect, at least in part, the influence of historical evolution",[5] demonstrating that some of these historical factors are more important than extant ecological processes in driving observed ecological patterns, a finding that radically changed the view of current patterns in the Mediterranean flora and vegetation.

[12] Following the publication of this book, Herrera led a long series of observational and experimental investigations over 2010-2022 which dealt with plant and yeast epigenetics in relation to their ecology.