Our weekly lunch seminar series featuring internal speakers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Abstract
Since the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, the Earth has substantially cooled, exposing flowering plants to new ecological opportunities that they can adapt to. Cold-tolerant angiosperms possess fascinating adaptations and trait innovations that enable them to survive under extreme climates. Montane angiosperms, a special subset of cold-tolerant plants, are well-known for their independent instances of rapid radiation. During this talk, I will discuss my proposed dissertation research, a global analysis of the correlation of montane distribution and speciation rates across major orders of flowering plants including a phylogenetic simulation comparing the macroevolutionary effects of differing turnover rates. Also, with available transcriptome data, I will examine the effect of whole genome duplications and gene duplications on the cold adaptations of alpine-arctic lineages in Caryophyllaceae.

This seminar will be in-person and livestreaming on Zoom (link this page). Contact eebsemaccess@umich.edu for password at least two hours prior to the event.

Image credit: Keyi Feng