Professor Timothy Barraclough, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, presents his inaugural lecture on: "Species evolving: the evolutionary causes and consequences of biodiversity."

In the Chair: Professor Ian Owens, Head of Division of Life Sciences

Vote of Thanks: Professor Jerry Coyne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago

A tea/coffee reception will precede the lecture at 16.45 in the Senior Common Room

Abstract: Why has life evolved into the diverse range of forms that we call species? Despite lying at the heart of evolutionary biology, this question has proved surprisingly hard to answer. Many biologists do not even agree on how species should be defined, and the causes of diversification are difficult to uncover, because of the long time-scales involved. In this lecture, I show how combining evolutionary theory and evidence from DNA can provide answers to these problems.  Scaling in from a global perspective, I demonstrate the importance of sex, and the effects of its absence, before tackling the greatest challenge of all, namely bacteria (which greatly outnumber other forms of life). Finally, I shift to the question of how diverse ecosystems respond to changing environments. This new perspective has wide relevance ranging from antibiotic resistance and human digestive health, to the manufacture of cheese.

Biography: Tim Barraclough is Professor of Evolutionary Biology in the Division of Biology. He arrived at Imperial in 1996, following a D.Phil. at Oxford. After a research associate position and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, he was awarded a lectureship in 2003, held jointly with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew until 2007. He remains a visiting researcher at both Kew and the Natural History Museum. He is on the management board of the NERC Centre for Population Biology and has worked on grant funding panels for both NERC and BBSRC. His group works on the evolutionary causes and consequences of biodiversity in a wide range of animals, plants and microbes.

To register for this event please email: Emma Powell