Evolutionary Biology, Diversity, and the Environment
Within this online seminar from CIMAR-LA, researchers Filipe Castro (CIIMAR) and João Neiva (CCMAR) will present and discuss their research on evolutionary biology, genetics, and biodiversity. More information on each talk can be found below.
Genome Stories: the splendor of life forms and their origin, by Filipe Castro
How are Phenotypes “built”? Such a seemingly eternal question has fascinated biologists since the dawn of scientific reasoning, from Aristotle’s Historia Animalium to Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. And yet, we marvel at the “adaptation unknowns”: the aerodynamic swimming of a penguin, the deep diving hunt of a sperm whale or the energy-saving movements of a seahorse. These “visions” encompass key concepts in Biology, such as that of Adaptation and the Phenotype. Thus, a key challenge of contemporary Evolutionary Biology is to understand the emergence and evolution of novelty at the molecular level, from an inherent gene set (phenotype-genotype link), and their relationship to adaptive landscapes. This quest has greatly benefited from the revolution in omic technologies. These have offered an unforeseen capacity to decipher the molecular origin of complex traits. In this talk, I will explore a few examples describing the power of comparative genomics to understand the dynamics of extant genomes (gene duplication and loss) in the comprehension of the splendor of biodiversity on planet Earth.
Genetic consequences of climatic oscillations on marine forests, by João Neiva
Marine species are not uniform or static entities. On the contrary, many show important intra-specific genetic differences across their ranges, that shed light into the biological traits, historical processes and geographic contexts that promote population differentiation and ultimately speciation. Much of our current understanding of these drivers comes from terrestrial systems, but dominant paradigms do not always apply to the distinct environmental settings and biological communities found in the sea. In this talk I revisit selected case studies from canopy-forming brown algae to show how interpreting these overlooked layers of intra-specific biodiversity in historical and geographical contexts was instrumental to 1) reconstruct marine biogeographic histories; and 2) identify the central (but largely idiosyncratic) role played by glacial cycles, dispersal barriers and even hybridization in shaping extant patterns of genetic structure. These insights offer an interesting perspective of evolution at relatively short temporal scales, but are also critical for anticipating ecological responses and cryptic biodiversity losses in the face of accelerating climate change.
Online webinar for CIMAR-LA members only. To access please follow this LINK.
If you are a CIIMAR member you can also access last seminars recordings through the LINK.
In case of any questions, please contact CIMAR-LA’s Seminar team.
