In the Light of Evolution, II: Biodiversity and Extinction

This meeting, organized by John C. Avise, Stephen P. Hubbell, and Francisco J. Ayala, was held December 6-8, 2007 at the Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine, CA.

Meeting Overview
Darwin’s experience as a natural historian contributed greatly to his explanation of evolution by natural selection, which stands as one of the grand intellectual achievements in the history of science.  The Earth’s exuberant biodiversity is a wellspring for scientific curiosity and discovery about nature’s workings. It is also a source of joy and aesthetic inspiration from poets to philosophers, and provides life-support services to all humanity.

Many scientists have argued that as a consequence of human activities the Earth is now entering the sixth mass extinction event in its four-billion-year history (and the only such event precipitated by a biotic agent). The biodiversity crisis is prompting scientific efforts on many fronts.  Systematists are describing biodiversity and reconstructing the Tree of Life.  Ecologists are mapping the distributions of biodiversity and global hotspots that merit special conservation attention.  Paleontologists are placing the current crisis in temporal context with regard to the Earth’s long geological history, and also to the more recent history of human impacts on biodiversity across timescales ranging from decades to millennia.  Educators and concerned scientists are striving to alert policy makers and the public to the biodiversity crisis.

Goals of this colloquium are to synthesize recent discoveries and concepts regarding the global abundance and distribution of biodiversity, and to compare these biodiversity patterns to conditions in the near and distant evolutionary past, as well as to those plausible in the near-term future.

Viewing presentations
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Session I:  Extant Evolutionary Diversity: What Stands to be Lost?
Introduction and Chair, Francisco J. Ayala (University of California, Irvine)

The Extent of Extant Biodiversity: Tallying Modern Populations and Species, Andy Dobson (Princeton University)

Coral Reefs: Hotspots of Biodiversity and Extinction, Marjorie Reaka, (University of Maryland)

Biodiversity Genetics: Three Ambitious Assignments for the Field, John C. Avise (University of California, Irvine)

Are We in the Midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction?, David Wake (University of California, Berkeley)

Session II:  Evolutionary Perspectives on Biodiversity and Extinction

Chair Stephen P. Hubbell (University of California, Los Angeles)

A Phylogenetic Perspective on Modern Biodiversity, Michael Donoghue (Yale University)

Extinction as the Loss of Evolutionary History, Douglas Erwin (National Museum of Natural History)
 
Extinction and the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Biodiversity, David Jablonski (University of Chicago)

Microbial Biodiversity: Dimensions and Geography, Jessica Green (University of Oregon)

Banquet Lecture
Introduction, Francisco J. Ayala (University of California, Irvine)

Where Does Biodiversity Go from Here? Paul Ehrlich (Stanford University)

Session III:  Case Studies: Historical Perspectives on Recent Biotic Changes

Introduction and Chair Michael Donoghue (Yale University)  

Climate Change, People, and Diversity Loss: Glimpsing the Future through Quaternary Mammal Extinctions, Anthony Barnosky (University of California, Berkeley)

Species Invasions and Extinction: The Future of Native Biodiversity on Islands, Dov Sax (Brown University)

Ecosystem Extinction and Evolution in the Brave New Ocean, Jeremy Jackson (Scripps Institute)

Phanerozoic Marine Diversity and Extinctions, John Alroy (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara)

Session IV:  Phylogeny’s Future: the Loss or Perpetuation of Evolution History?
Chair John C. Avise (University of California, Irvine)

Phylogenetic Trees and the Future of Mammalian Biodiversity, Andy Purvis (Imperial College London)

The Short- and Long-term Future of Tropical Forests, Stephen P. Hubbell (University of California, Los Angeles)
 
Why Does Biodiversity Matter?, Jennifer Martiny (University of California, Irvine)

Engaging the Public on Biodiversity Issues, Peter J. Bryant (University of California, Irvine)

Concluding Remarks, Francisco J. Ayala (University of California, Irvine)