Dr. Nicolás Mongiardino Koch, Seminar, April 3, 2023
Dr. Nicolás Mongiardino Koch
Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Phylogenomic and paleontological insights into echinoid diversification
Abstract:
Echinoids constitute a diverse group of marine invertebrates including species commonly known as sea urchins, heart urchins, and sand dollars. Their outstanding fossil record, high morphological complexity, and vast genomic resources provide a unique basis for exploring their phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history across deep timescales. In this talk, I will explore how combining phylogenomic and paleontological approaches can shed light on the relationships, times of origin, and morphological evolution of the major lineages of echinoids, highlighting the value of inter-disciplinary macroevolutionary research.
Biography:
Nicolás is an evolutionary biologist interested in the processes that drive biological diversification. His research combines the inference of phylogenetic trees, which depict the relationships among species, with the exploration of factors underlying contrasting evolutionary trajectories, such as those responsible for differences in species number, morphological disparity or ecological breadth. His research focuses mainly on sea urchins, a group that plays key roles in ensuring the functioning of biodiverse marine communities such as coral reefs and kelp forests. Nicolás completed a Licenciatura (combined BS/MS degree) in Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, after which he joined Yale University, earning a PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences. He is currently a member of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, working as an NSF-funded postdoctoral fellow and a Lecturer in computational sciences.
