Dr. Sharlene Santana from the Dept. of Biology and the Burke Museum at the University of Washington is giving the last EEB seminar of the semester next Monday, April 30 at 3:30 pm in HFSB 104.

Her talk title is Bat cranial diversity: from ontogeny to macroevolution.

She is hosted by Mike Smotherman (BIOL)

Research Website: https://faculty.washington.edu/ssantana/wordpress/

Abstract: Diet evolution is a major driver of differences in morphology, function and species richness across mammal lineages. My lab’s research focuses on understanding how ecological diversification in mammals is related to the evolution of phenotypic traits, in particular those used to locate, capture and consume prey. With over 1,300 species worldwide, bats are an ideal model system for this research; they are one of the most species-rich and ecologically diverse mammal orders. To illuminate the complex mechanisms leading to bat diversification, our research integrates three major approaches: (1) documenting the ontogeny and macroevolution of traits associated with feeding, (2) experimentally testing how differences in these traits translate into feeding performance and resource use, and (3) quantitatively linking these patterns and mechanisms to the process of species diversification. In this seminar, I will illustrate how this research is allowing my lab to deepen the field’s understanding of the ecomorphological processes underlying the diversification of bats.

Please join us for a great talk in support of the strong EEB community we have here at Texas A&M!