@LPD05], cluster populations have shown an accelerated evolution in star formation (SF) over the last four billion years, resulting in an overall ${\sim}15{\times}$ reduction in the total star formation rates (SFRs) per unit halo mass since $z{\sim}0.3$ [@HPS13]. Empirically, clusters accrete gas-rich, star-forming spirals at $z{\ga}0$.5–1.0 and then contribute to transforming them somehow into the passive S0s and dEs of local clusters.

Several mechanisms affecting the galaxy properties and dependent upon the environment have been proposed and investigated in detail and all of them serve to kinematically disturb spiral galaxies and/or transform their structural properties and/or deplete their reservoirs of gas, and so quench star formation. These physical processes include gravitational and tidal interactions amongst galaxies [@TT72; @MKL96], between galaxies and the cluster gravitational field [@BV90], galaxy mergers [@BH91], group-cluster collisions [@B01], ram-pressure [@GG72] and viscous stripping [@N82], evaporation [@CS77] and ‘starvation’ [@LTC80]. Since these mechanisms are characterized by different time-scales and efficiencies which depend, in turn, on the properties of both the galaxies themselves (e.g. their stellar masses, morphologies) and their environment, they can affect the galaxy properties in different characteristic ways [@BG06; @Haines07]. Examples of this are the different effects of tidal and hydrodynamical interactions. The ram pressure 