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Brown Bag Talk at 2012 by Karen Samonds
Karen Samonds
Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Winds, waves, and wings: deciphering the colonization patterns of Madagascar’s vertebrates
When: Wednesday, November 28th, 2012, Reception @ 12:00 m
Where: Montgomery 441 (MO441)
For centuries, naturalists have been drawn to Madagascar due to its rich, highly endemic and often bizarre plants and animals. However, in spite of this rich biodiversity, the details of how, when, and from where its modern animals arrived remains largely a mystery. Past research has suggested ancient land bridges or transoceanic dispersal, but no study has quantitatively tested these scenarios. Using two approaches: 1) paleontological reconnaissance and, 2) investigating spatial and temporal variation within the context of major geologic and oceanographic conditions, we have begun to elucidate this mystery. Our work strongly support the importance of transoceanic dispersal by wind and water as the vehicles whereby most of Madagascar’s living groups became established, and fossil exploration has produced the first glimpse from this unknown time period. This research is the first comprehensive study directly investigating the patterns of arrival and diversification for Madagascar’s major groups.
Dr. Karen Samonds is an Assistant Professor in BIOS since August 2012. She received her B.S. and B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, and her M.A, M.Phil. & Ph.D. from the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University. She worked as an Assistant Professor at Mount Holyoke College, McGill University, and most recently as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her research integrates comparative anatomy, systematics, and biogeography with field paleontology to address topics in vertebrate evolution. Her paleontological field research aims to shed light on the origin and evolutionary history of Madagascar’s modern fauna, one of the most unique and endemic on the planet.Return to Brown Bag
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