Applied Evolutionary Biology to Address Global Challenges

Dr. Scott Carroll 
Institute for Contemporary Evolution, 
Davis and Department of Entomology and Nematology, 
UC Davis 

This is a time of rapid global change, which means current biological science students will see great changes in their lifetimes. Dr. Scott Carroll illustrates this by sharing general information about changes in land use and human population over the past 300 years. He uses the word “Anthropocene” to describe these changes – Anthropocene is a new geologic chronological term for an epoch that begins when human activities have had a significant global impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. Then, Dr. Carroll uses the example of the Soapberry Bug and its responses to change to provide insight into how rapid contemporary evolution could occur. This insect species is able to quickly adapt to a changing environment by utilizing new plant species as food sources. 

Recorded: February 27, 2015