ID: 613 / 142

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: USING HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING TO UNDERSTAND PLANT EVOLUTION ON ISLANDS IN A DATA-RICH ERA: NEW INSIGHTS FOR NEW CHALLENGES. SESSION 1

Abstract: Islands have attracted the attention of biogeographers and evolutionary biologists for centuries. They form unique ecological and evolutionary units due to their relative high levels of endemism and associated island syndromes, as well as their geographical isolation, replicated nature and limited size. Recent advances in phylogenetic comparative methods and high-throughput sequencing platforms provide unprecedented opportunities for studying island evolution at macro- and microevolutionary time scales. From deepening our knowledge of the genetic basis of diversification and speciation to understanding and predicting the effects of rapid global change, genomic studies enable us to address fundamental questions in island biology. Some of the most enduring questions in island biogeography include why certain lineages radiate while others do not, and what evolutionary processes explain the often-speciose plant radiations found on islands. The impact of addressing such questions becomes increasingly powerful when it draws on collaborative efforts to integrate genomics with ecological and conservation approaches. This symposium brings together a set of researchers to showcase state-of-the-art approaches in how genomic data coupled with other quantitative data on insular floras is being applied to evolutionary island biology in a broad array of oceanic archipelagos, ultimately connecting evolutionary pattern with process in order to answer key questions in island evolution.

Speaker 1: Dr. Seung-Chul Kim, Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea, sonchus2009@gmail.com (Professor). Plant Evolution in the Canary Islands

Speaker 2: Dr. José Cerca, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, jose.cerca@gmail.com (Postdoctoral researcher). Plant Evolution in the Galapagos

Speaker 3: Mrs. Lizzie Roeble, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands, lizzie.roeble@naturalis.nl (PhD candidate). Plant Evolution in the Mascarenes

Topics (Up to three): Biogeography / Phylogeography

Topic 2: Systematics

Topic 3: Comparative Genomics / Transcriptomics

Justification: Based on recent conceptual, technical and analytical innovations and increases in the availability of genomic data, the field of island biology continues to provide exciting new insights into how species and populations evolve and interact with their insular environments, from geography and climate to anthropogenic impacts. This symposium proposal will tackle this research field by bringing together three speakers, two male and one female, at different career stages, from three different continents including Asia, Europe and America (although Lizzie Roeble is currently at NBC), and working on island plant evolution in island systems from three different oceans, from the Canary Islands and Mascarenes to the Galapagos.