The water-to-land transition is one of the most important and inspiring major transitions in vertebrate evolution. And the question of how and when tetrapods transitioned from water to land has long been a source of wonder and scientific debate.
Early ideas posited that drying-up-pools of water stranded fish on land and that being out of water provided the selective pressure to evolve more limb-like appendages to walk back to water. In the 1990s newly discovered specimens suggested that the first tetrapods retained many aquatic features, like gills and a tail fin, and that...
The oceans contain 97% of Earth's water, and host the most disparate ecosystems on the planet. OEB 119 provides an introduction to deep ocean habitats, macrofauna and microorganisms. And this semester, Professor Peter Girguis is taking students to the ocean online! Prof. Girguis has led multiple cruises as Chief Scientist with Schmidt Ocean aboard the R/V Falkor.
Enjoy a video about OEB 119 created by the Derek Bok Center:
The new Smith Family Foundation Odyssey Award was created in 2017 to fuel creativity and innovation in junior investigators in the basic sciences. The Award supports the...
Congratulations to OEB professors and PhD candidates awarded Special Commendation for Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times in Spring 2020, from Dean Claybaugh:
Scott Edwards (Faculty, OEB 190), Philip Fahn-Lai (TF, OEB 126), Dave Matthews (TF, OEB 53), Jacob Suissa (TF, OEB 52), Inbar Maayan (TF, OEB 167), James Hanken (Faculty, OEB 167) and Jenni Austiff (TF, OEB 167).
For the past five years, Prof Javier Ortega-Hernández and Prof. Yu Liu, Yunnan University, China have collaborated to learn more about arthropod evolution by using micro-CT scanning to create 3D models of fossils and view details that would be impossible to see otherwise. Their work was recently covered by the Harvard Gazette...
Mallard ducks are capable of performing a wide range of behaviors including nearly vertical takeoffs from both land and water. The hindlimb plays a key role during takeoffs for both; however, the amount of force needed differs in fluid and solid environments. In a new paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology, recent graduate Kari Taylor-Burt (PhD '20) and Prof. Andrew Biewener hypothesize that hindlimb joint motion and muscle shortening are faster...
How do you do botany fieldwork for a course during COVID when classes are online? Prof. Charles Davis developed an online botany course, Plant Biodiversity in the Digital Age, taught at the University of Michigan. Instead of conducting research at the University's ...
A new study in Acta Chiropterologica (22:1) has described a new bat species in southern Africa named Wilson’s Long-fingered Bat, Miniopterus wilsoni, after Faculty Emeritus Edward O. Wilson.
The new species, which is found on Mount Gorongosa in Mozambique and in the mountains of central and northern Mozambique and southern Malawi, was collected as part of the E.O. Wilson Laboratory at...
OEB Prof. Scott Edwards stands on an Oregon beach and hoists his bike overhead in triumph. "The Harvard Professor and curator of ornithology had just finished a solo, cross-country bike ride spanning 76 days, 15 states, 3,800 miles—and just three flat tires." Another great article from Audubon Society covering the successful end of Scott's...
Among the many winter survival strategies in the animal world, hibernation is one of the most common. With limited food and energy sources during winters - especially in areas close to or within polar regions - many animals hibernate to survive the cold, dark winters. Though much is known behaviorally on animal hibernation, it is difficult to study in fossils.
According to new research, this type of adaptation has a long history. In a paper published Aug. 27 in the journal Communications Biology...
The evolution of novel features - traits such as wings or eyes - helps organisms make the most use of their environment and promotes increased diversification among species. Understanding the underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms involved in the origin of these traits is of great interest to evolutionary biologists.
The flowering plant Aquilegia, a genus of 60-70 species found in temperate meadows, woodlands and mountain tops around the world, is known for a novel feature - the nectar spur, which is important for pollination, and for the ecology and...
