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Speaker: Dr Kyle Dexter, Lecturer, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh
This talk will give an overview of how patterns of niche evolution can shape the lineage diversity and species composition of tropical tree communities. Largely focusing on the three major biomes of the lowland Neotropics, wet forest, seasonally dry forest and savanna, Kyle will examine how different tree lineages have evolutionarily switched among, or remained within, biomes. This has significant consequences for how much lineage, or evolutionary, diversity we find in communities, with potential consequences for conservation and ecosystem function. Given time, he will also cover evolution of another important aspect of tree niches, that of defense against herbivores.
Kyle can variously be categorised as an evolutionary, tropical or community ecologist, or as a biogeographer or botanist. His past research focused on using phylogenetic and population genetic tools to understand community assembly. Kyle’s current and future research centres around determining how ecological niches have evolved in the past, with implications for biogeographic patterns, community structure, and the response of species to future environmental change.