Skip to main content
Search

Evolutionary developmental biology

Published on January 31, 2023   38 min

A selection of talks on Plant & Animal Sciences

Please wait while the transcript is being prepared...
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.

Quiz available with full talk access. Request Free Trial or Login.