[Department of Ocean Science] PhD Qualifying Examination Defense Seminar: Macroevolution of Diverse Trait Systems in Marine Invertebrates
 

Abstract: 

A central goal of macroevolution and comparative biology is to understand the patterns of extant phenotypic diversity and the evolutionary processes that generated them. Across traditional studies of macroevolution, four recurring features can be recognized in the choice, dimensionality, distribution, and evolutionary processes of traits: a predominant focus on morphological traits, low-dimensional trait representations, Euclidean geometry, and Gaussian processes. This doctoral research aims to broaden the scope of macroevolutionary inquiry in four corresponding directions: (1) beyond morphology, (2) beyond low dimensionality, (3) beyond Euclidean geometry, and (4) beyond Gaussian processes.

Marine organisms, particularly invertebrates, provide rich materials for addressing macroevolutionary questions because of their extraordinary taxonomic diversity, deep evolutionary histories, and unusual array of phenotypic and functional traits. We therefore examine three representative (marine) biological systems: morphological organization in ciliates, the gastropod morphology, and venom systems in cnidarians. Together, these systems allow us to investigate macroevolution in non-morphological, high-dimensional, non-Euclidean, and non-Gaussian settings, thereby extending comparative methods beyond their conventional conceptual and methodological boundaries.