Paleonet: GSA 2017 Topical Session: Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics in the Fossil Record (T65)

[Ashley Dineen]

Hello everyone,

We are announcing a topical session entitled “T65. Eco-Evolutionary
Dynamics in the Fossil Record” at the Annual Meeting of the Geological
Society of America, to be held 22-25 October in Seattle, Washington. This
interdisciplinary session will develop and expand thinking on how the
complementary influences of ecology and evolution on short timescales might
contribute to our understanding of macroevolutionary patterns on geological
timescales (see detailed abstract below). Invited speakers will include
Philip M. Novack-Gottshall (Benedictine University) and Kaitlin C. Maguire
(USGS Boise). This session is sponsored by the Paleontological Research
Institute, and the Paleontological Society.

If your current work focuses on the intersection of evolution, ecological
processes, and macroevolution, we invite you to submit an abstract for
consideration. Abstract submission opens in April, 2017 and closes on
August 1. For more information about the conference, visit
http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2017/home


*Abstract:* While the scientific community has long focused on how
ecological change affects evolution, little attention has been paid to the
inverse of this relationship. The rapidly developing field of
eco-evolutionary dynamics explores how evolution and adaptation, on short
contemporary timescales, influence ecological dynamics ranging from
population demographics to community and ecosystem level processes. On
longer geological timescales, it is recognized that macroevolutionary
patterns, and the states of paleocommunities/ecosystems, are partially the
cumulative results of ecological processes and events occurring on shorter
timescales, such as predation and niche construction. This session will
provide a forum for exploration of the extent to which the feedback between
ecology and evolution can explain macroevolutionary patterns, and the
extent to which those patterns may yield insight into the long-term
outcomes of eco-evolutionary dynamics. The challenge is to bridge the gaps
of data resolution, and limitations inherent to the prediction of
macroevolutionary patterns from micro-scale processes. Further
understanding of the complex interplay between ecological interactions and
evolutionary dynamics is of great importance to forecasting how biologic
systems might respond to ongoing and future anthropogenic pressures.

Please feel free to pass this announcement on to others who may be
interested. And do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Cheers,
Ashley Dineen (California Academy of Sciences, adineen at calacademy.org)
Peter Roopnarine (California Academy of Sciences, proopnarine at calacademy.org
)

-- 
Dr. Ashley A. Dineen
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology
California Academy of Sciences
adineen at calacademy.org

www.calacademy.org
55 Music Concourse Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118
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