Exploring Biodiversity for Solutions
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Transcript of Exploring Biodiversity for Solutions
Exploring Biodiversity for Solutions
BioDiversity• 1,300,000 species described• Likely over 8,000,000 total
Wheeler 1990
Some tools for exploring biodiversity
• Explore trees– Target key innovations– Identify independent origins
• Target selective environments• Browse natural history records• Dig into the literature• Ask a biologist
Organizing Life• Phylogeny: hypothesized evolutionary
relationships among a group of species
http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html
Target Clades with Key Innovations
• Explore variation in that trait between environments, lineages, etc.
Gamble et al 2012 PLoS One
Identify multiple evolutionary origins
• For a particular trait • For solving a particular problem
Target Selective Environments
• Can you distill your problem into an environment organisms are adapted to?
Browse databases & natural history records
• What are certain species or lineages really “good at?”
Browse databases & natural history records
• What are certain species or lineages really “good at?”
Research the mechanism
• Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar
Ask a Biologist• We are always excited to talk about our study
organisms!• 200+ biologists at the University (CBS, CFANS)• Find a specialist for your group of interest
College of Biological Sciences website Bell Museum collections