ID: 613 / 63

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: INTEGRATING ECOLOGY INTO MACRO AND MICROEVOLUTIONARY STUDIES PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN CURRENT AND PAST DATA SOURCES

Abstract: The need to develop deeper links between Ecology and Evolution has become increasingly important in the last decades. The recognition that evolution can occur on short term ecological timescales and the fact that microevolutionary processes can eventually influence macroevolution has steered the development of blended perspectives. Indeed, there is increasing interest in evolutionary studies that integrate ecological theories and approaches and vice versa. However, many challenges remain. We need to explore macro- and microevolutionary approaches that consider various sources of information at different spatiotemporal scales. On one hand, we need to better integrate ecological theory incorporating the concepts of fundamental and realized niche and the impact of biotic interactions on evolution. On the other, we need to include information from the fossil record. Uncertainty characterizing the past ecological conditions and the lack of systematic information on fossil plant ecology have hindered this integration, but recent advances in past climatic modeling and quantitative assessments on fossil traits are opening new avenues to tap into this valuable source of information. In summary, this symposium intends to bring together micro- and macroevolutionary studies that use approaches deeply rooted in ecological theory and bring about lessons from the past. This includes cutting-edge research that addresses the consideration of fundamental and realized niches in an evolutionary context, the incorporation of climatic complexity into phylogenetic niche reconstructions, the impact of the interactions between biological and physical drivers on evolution, the integration of processes at various spatiotemporal scales, and the incorporation of paleoecologic and paleoclimatic data into evolutionary studies. In addition, studies that explore new avenues for exploring palaeoecological data as a source of information for niche reconstruction are especially welcomed.

Speaker 1: •Name: Pamela Soltis •Institutional Affiliation: University of Florida •E-mail: psoltis@flmnh.ufl.edu •Tentative Talk Title: Phylogenetic Diversity and Ancestral Niche Reconstructions Reveal Past Evolutionary Drivers of Current Plant Diversity in North America

Speaker 2: • Name Candela Blanco-Moreno • Institutional Affiliation (1) Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, Arcata, CA USA. (2) Biology Department, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Darwin 2. Madrid. Spain. • E-mail candelablanmor@gmail.com • Tentative Talk Title Quantitative paleobotany: contributions to the comprehension of the vegetation of the past

Speaker 3: • Name E. Karen López-Estrada • Institutional Affiliation University of Sydney • E-mail estefanykaren.lopez@sydney.edu.au or lokaren21@gmail.com • Tentative Talk Title The splendid isolation of the South American continent for plants: tempo, rates and the role of distance and temperature in large-scale dispersal events

Topics (Up to three): Biogeography / Phylogeography

Topic 2: Macroevolution

Topic 3: Paleobotany / Archaeobotany

Justification: The symposium is aimed at an audience with an interest in exploring how ecological niche has evolved using approaches that improve the characterization of current niches and the reconstruction of past niches. The speakers represent researchers at different career stages (Pam S. Soltis as a Professor, Thais Vaconcelos as an Assistant Professor and Candela Blanco-Moreno as a postdoctoral researcher). Although the three speakers are currently working in USA, their backgrounds include different countries, Dr. Vasconcelos is originally from Brazil and Dr. Blanco-Moreno from Spain. The symposium aims to bring together ecologists, paleobotanists and evolutionary biologists and, as such, it covers several topics of broad interest.