Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J018163/1
An individual-based perspective on macroevolution
Fellowship Award
- Fellow:
- Dr THG Ezard, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre Southampton
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Palaeobiology
- Evolution & populations
- Adaptation
- Evolution & populations
- Natural variation
- Theoretical biology
- Quantitative genetics
- Abstract:
- Consider the weights of the 1500 or so commuters onboard the 07:52 Esher to London Waterloo train service. Weight has many health implications, affecting both life expectancy and reproductive potential. The 18 stone man opposite might not seem an ideal catch for a physically-fit impressionable type if she considers only his weight. If, however, she also sees he is 6 and a half feet tall with an athletic appearance (perhaps he plays rugby), then he becomes a much more attractive proposition. Biologists often attempt to understand the evolution of traits like height and weight on their own. It is not individual traits that survive, reproduce and die though, but whole individuals. If the individuals of a species are successful, then the species will be too. The connection highlights the link between the traits that define species, evolution within species and the formation of new species is a key part of evolutionary biology, but one for which lots of data are rare. To understand it, we need to study competition among species in different environments. We also need to sample individuals in populations over and over again to see how these pressures change over time. Only the fossil record can give direct evidence of historical groups of species and how they have changed over vast periods of time. The exceptional preservation of fossilised planktonic foraminifera - single-celled, sexual organisms living in all of the world's oceans - means it is possible to home in on abrupt or gradual climate change, seeing which groups succeed and, importantly, which groups fail: competition and climate change have very different impacts on the generation of new species and the extinction of living ones. The enviable preservation of whole foraminifera as fossils mean I can sample their fossil record in the same way as scientists sample laboratory experiments to see what drives evolution. In doing so, I will be the first to use real data to test key assumptions on how variation among individuals affects variation among species. Understanding evolution is a fundamental concern, especially in a world characterised by rapid responses to human-induced threats. While there have recently been many theoretical advances in how small-scale trends might map to large-scale diversity patterns, evidence from real data is still largely missing. Macroperforate planktonic foraminifera have survived and adapted to ongoing climate change and rapid global warming before. In each instance, assemblages were much altered after the event as new species rose to dominate their biodiversity. Results spanning local to global scales, from the deep past to the present day, will not only provide new insight into how biodiversity arrived at its current state, but will also lead to new work that improves predictions of its prospects in the future.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J018163/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Advanced Fellow (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Fellow
This fellowship award has a total value of £430,336
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DA - Other Directly Allocated | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £22,442 | £144,230 | £66,183 | £187,467 | £2,180 | £7,837 |
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