Dr. Sharlene Santana with bat
The Biological & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar Series presents Dr. Sharlene Santana discussing “Bat Cranial Diversity: From Ontogeny to Macroevolution” On Monday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. in Stocker 103.
Santana is Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Washington. The long-term goal of her research program is to understand the connections among morphology, function, behavior and ecology, and how these factors interact to result in ecological radiations.
Abstract: I was born and raised in the tropics, where I developed a keen interest for biodiversity. This led me to pursue a career as an evolutionary biologist, and to focus my research on understanding the mechanisms that lead to disparity in phenotypic and lineage diversity across groups of mammals. As an integrative biologist, my research approaches this topic by examining three fundamental aspects of the ecology and evolution of biological systems: (1) lineage diversification, (2) phenotypic diversification, and (3) the roles of morphological and behavioral evolution on organismal performance. The long-term goal of my research is to elucidate how behavior, morphology and function evolve to create ecological opportunities and result in bursts of diversification in mammals. Thus far, my work has contributed to the understanding of major radiations within bats and primates. I have used innovative approaches to investigate evolutionary hypotheses in these systems, which have involved combining techniques from multiple disciplines, including ecology, evolutionary biology, engineering, geography and computer science. My ongoing work is expanding this framework over broader taxonomic scales, and is zooming in the ecomorphological mechanisms that maintain high levels of diversity in tropical ecosystems.
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