Speaker – Anieke Brombacher, Yale University, (hosted by K. Davis). This seminar will be Virtual Only. 

Seminar Title – Speciation and extinction: insights from planktonic foraminifera

Abstract – Planktonic foraminifera have an incredibly detailed fossil record. High-resolution evolutionary time series of fossil foraminifera can shed new light on the driving mechanisms of speciation and extinction. Using environmental data recorded in foraminiferal shells we can link evolutionary patterns to climate change, and we can study changes in developmental sequences through speciation events. In this talk I will show how foraminifera can be used to better understand the many interconnected drivers of evolution. Extinction risk is influenced by a combination of environmental factors, and species-specific components such as their biogeographic range size and abundance. Speciation can be facilitated by shifts in developmental timings, but this varies among traits: some traits can adapt to changing circumstances, whereas others are fixed by internal constraints.