ADVANCE Fellows Award: Egg Size Evolution of Free-Spawning Marine Invertebrates in Neogene Tropical America

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This award provides funding for the PI to study life history evolution in marine systems by combining biogeographical, biochemical, morphological and paleontological approaches to examining egg size evolution in a family of marine bivalves relative to a major biogeographic event, the rise of the Central American Isthmus (CAI) at 2.8-3.1 million years ago. The rise of the CAI separated the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and isolated populations of previously-continuous species (known as geminate species pairs). The presence of multiple closely-related species offers a unique, replicated natural experiment that can shed light on evolutionary forces. The PI will study the egg size evolution of bivalves in the family Arcidae to determine the rate and timing of the evolution relative to the rise of the CIA. This research will provide the first descriptive data on egg size in the past, and will add a new approach for exploration of oceanic change and evolutionary response to geologic events. In addition, funding will support research experience for five undergraduate students.