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0:00
Hello, my name is Karen Sears.
I'm a professor at UCLA.
In this talk I'm going to
present an introduction to
the field of evolutionary
developmental biology.
0:13
I will first provide
an overview of
the general aims of the field
of evolutionary
developmental biology.
Then I will talk a bit about
why evolutionary
developmental biology is
important to a
complete understanding
of the evolutionary
history of life.
Next step, we'll go
through two case studies
that touch on two
topics that I feel are
really at the center of much of
evolutionary developmental
biological research.
These are the generation of
variation and the origin of
morphological innovation.
Last, I will briefly
touch on the future
of the field of evolutionary
developmental biology.
0:52
First, things first.
To provide a foundation
for the rest of this talk,
I'm going to spend a few
minutes talking about
the general aims and focus
of the field of evolutionary
developmental biology.
Broadly defined as spoiled
by the name of the field,
evolutionary developmental
biology bridges the fields
of developmental biology
and evolutionary biology.
When I speak about
developmental biology,
I am referring to the study of
the processes by which
animals and plants
grow and develop.
For example in this
image on the left,
it shows the early
development of
the limbs of mammals from
their initial outgrowths
from the body wall to when
they start to resemble
a form that looks more like
what they will look
like in the adults.
When I speak about
evolutionary biology,
I'm referring to the study of
the processes and patterns
of biological evolution,
especially in relation to
the diversity of organisms and
how they change over time.
For example, in the
image on the right,
I show the
morphological diversity
displayed by the limbs
of adult mammals.
Note when I say the
word morphology,
I'm referring to an
organism's form.
