Category Archives: Lectures

Geoscience seminar this Friday – Janina Rannikko

Dear all,

Janina Rannikko will give the geoscience seminar this Friday (abstract below):

Title:  C4-SPECIALIST FOSSIL PIGS AND A MECHANICAL HORSE – RESEARCHING TEETH, DIETS AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF PALAEONTOLOGY

Time: Friday 27.1. at 14.15

Location: D114, Physicum, Kumpula campus

***

Abstract:

My PhD research is mainly focused on East African suids (pigs) in Plio-Pleistocene. During 8 million years there has been interesting shifts in the faunal and environmental records of Turkana Basin area. The other part of my work has been fundamental research of dental wear, which has been conducted with the chewing machine built here in Helsinki University.

***

All are welcome!

Anu

Geoscience seminar 18.11. – Laura Säilä-Corfe

Hi All,

Laura Säilä-Corfe will give the geoscience seminar this week (abstract below):

Title:  AROUND THE WORLD IN 129 DOGS: A NEW GLOBAL FOSSIL CANID PHYLOGENY AND THE HISTORICAL PHYLOBIOGEOGRAPHY OF CANINAE

Time: Friday 18.11. at 14.15

Place: D114, Physicum, Kumpula campus

See the upcoming Geoscience seminars in https://wiki.helsinki.fi/display/geoseminar/Geoscience+Seminar

All are welcome!

Anu

 

***

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationships of North American fossil Canidae have been subject to many recent studies but canids from other continents have received less attention. I present the results of the first ever combined evidence analysis (molecular and morphological characters) of global Canidae, with additional fossil taxa included a-priori based on expert opinion. Our analysis, using Beast 2.3.2 and the R package BEASTmasteR, includes 222 Canidae species (64 in subfamily Borophaginae, 29 in subfamily Hesperocyoninae, and 129 in subfamily Caninae). We also conducted a historical biogeographical analysis of subfamily Caninae using our tip-dated phylogeny, and distribution data from fossil databases (NOW and PBDB). Models that include “founder-event speciation” (speciation coincident with dispersal to a new region) appear to dominate, gaining over 99% of the AIC model weight. Newly developed BioGeoBEARS features will also allow us to estimate whether an absence of a fossil taxon from a certain region is a ‘true absence’ or just ‘absence of evidence’ based on the completeness of the fossil record, resulting in more robust biogeographical models.

 

Geoscience seminar 22.4. – Prof. Mikael Fortelius

Dear All,

The Geoscience seminar this week (Friday 22nd) will be given by professor Mikael Fortelius. Mikael will talk about his recent research from Turkana Basin (abstract below).

Friday 22.4.

Time: 14.15

Location: D114, Physicum, Kumpula Campus

Title: AN ECOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE FOSSIL MAMMAL RECORD OF THE TURKANA BASIN

All are most welcome!

***

Abstract

Although ecometric methods have been used to analyse fossil mammal faunas and environments of Eurasia and North America, such methods have not yet been applied to the rich fossil mammal record of East Africa. Here we report results from analysis of a combined dataset spanning east and west Turkana from Kenya between 7 and 1 million years ago. We provide temporally and spatially resolved estimates of temperature and precipitation and discuss their relationship to patterns of faunal change and propose a new hypothesis to explain the lack of a temperature trend. We suggest that the regionally arid Turkana Basin may between 4 and 2 million years ago have acted as a ‘Species Factory’, generating ecological adaptations in advance of the global trend. We show a persistent difference between the eastern and western sides of the Turkana Basin and suggest that the wetlands of the shallow eastern side could have provided additional humidity to the terrestrial ecosystems. Pending further research, a transient episode of faunal change centred at the time of the KBS member (1.87-1.53 million years ago) may be equally plausibly attributed to climate change or to a top-down ecological cascade initiated by the entry of technologically sophisticated humans.

 

Geoscience seminar TODAY / Leena Sukselainen

Dear all,

The Geoscience Seminar TODAY is given by Leena Sukselainen. Leena works as a PhD student in our department and she is going to present us part of her thesis work.

Friday, 23.10.
Time: 14.15
Location: D114 Physicum, Kumpula Campus

Title: CO-OCCURRENCE OF PLIOPITHECOID AND HOMINOID PRIMATES IN FOSSIL RECORD: AN ECOMETRIC ANALYSIS (abstract below)

All are welcome!

Anu

***

Both pliopithecoid and hominoid primates were widely distributed throughout Eurasia during the Miocene, but are known to have coexisted only at a few localities. It has been speculated that their different habitat preferences permitted only minimal overlap under special environmental conditions. Here, we study the context for pliopithecoid and hominoid co-occurrence by assessing taxonomically-based palaeoecological diversity of associated fossil mammals, as well as through direct ecometric analysis based on hypsodonty of mammalian herbivores. Our results show that pliopithecoids persistently inhabited more humid environments compared to other primate groups studied, suggesting an inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The opportunity for hominoids and pliopithecoids to co-occur appears to have been restricted by the niche conservatism in the latter group. Our study also indicates that direct ecometric analysis gives a better separation of the ecological preferences of these primate clades than do analyses of taxonomically-based community structure.

 

Tooth Morphogenesis and Differentiation 2016 – First Announcement

Dear Colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to announce the upcoming 12th Tooth Morphogenesis and Differentiation conference, which will be held in Porvoo (Finland), from the 13th to the 18th of June 2016.

The original spirit of the TMD conference has been preserved as all participants will be housed at the conference venue to provide maximum opportunity for sharing their common passion for dental and craniofacial research.

Further information can be found on the conference website:

www.tmd2016.org  The call for abstracts and the opening of registration will be announced later by email and on the website.

Please, share the information with people who might be interested.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Finland.

Best regards,

The organising committee
Frederic Michon (Chairperson)
Jukka Jernvall
Pekka Nieminen

Kurten club 22.9.2015, SPECIAL LECTURE by Mark Norell (AMNH)

Dear All,

Next week we’ll have a special lecture by Mark Norell (AMNH, Paleontology Professor), A dozen years of the theropod working group – New perspectives on bird origins

Dr. Norell works in several areas of specimen-based and theoretical research. He works on the description and relationships of coelurosaurs and studies elements of the Asian Mesozoic fauna. He analyzes important new “feathered” dinosaurs from Liaoning, China, and develops theoretical methods for better understanding phylogenetic relationships and pattern in the fossil record. Under his co-direction with Michael Novacek, a team of paleontologists working in the Gobi desert since 1990 has produced a wealth of great specimens. This has led to the development of a new phylogenetic hypothesis for coelurosaurian theropods. Similar studies have been carried out on fossil lizards and champsosaurs from this region. Work on these animals has led Dr. Norell’s team to discover some aspects of anguimorph phylogeny, to recognize new clades of lizards, to phylogenetically place problematic taxa, and to describe poorly known taxa based on new material. Dr. Norell’s theoretical work focuses on developing methodology for evaluating the effect of missing data on large data sets, sensitivity methods for character weighting, and using phylogeny to estimate patterns in the fossil record such as diversity and extinction. He also studies the relationship between stratigraphic position and phylogenetic topology.

We have a little larger room for this event, so come at 16.00 to D114 (1st floor, middle section, Physicum).

Your club hostess,
Janina

Evo-Devo JC: Origin of snakes

Hi everybody!

This Friday (11th) in Viikki campus Filipe Oliveira da Silva will be leading the Evo-Devo journal club with a talk on skull shape in snakes and its implications implications about snakes origins (soon to be presented at the 75th SVP meeting).

Filipe’s research spans over a large set of subjects and techniques in both palaeontology and developmental biology that should satisfy the interest of many. You are most welcome to join the discussion on this long-controverted subject starting at 11:00 in Biocenter 1, room 4008 on the 4th floor (in front of the coffee room).

See you there,

Fabien

Kurtén Club 5.5., special events

Dear All,

tomorrow, Juha Saarinen will give a talk about

Proboscidean mesowear applied.

Time & Loc.:
16.00, 5.5.2015, C108 Physicum, Kumpula

Also,
Interested in human evolution, development, phylogeny, or conservation? Please consider three quite exceptional events in the near future:

– May 6, 18:00. Yrjö Reenpää Lecture by legendary needs-no-introduction palaeoanthropologist Richard Leakey, Kenya: “50 years of African origins as both researcher and observer”. University of Helsinki Great Hall (main building, Unioninkatu 34).

– May 7, 14:15. Legendary palaeoanthropologist Meave Leakey, Kenya: “Surprises from the Past”. First-hand account by the scientist who has been coordinating the research in the Kenyan Turkana Basin for the last several decades. Björn Kurtén Club, Physicum D101, Kumpula Campus.

Welcome,
Allu

Kurtén Club 28.4., special events

Dear All,

tomorrow, Bernard Wood will give a talk about

Can developmental biology help recover phylogeny?

Time & Loc.:
16.00, 28.4.2015, C108 Physicum, Kumpula

Also,
Interested in human evolution, development, phylogeny, or conservation? Please consider three quite exceptional events in the near future:

– April 29, 9:00-15:00. Symposium on Understanding Humans in their Early Context. Speakers include Bernard Wood, Jukka Jernvall, Fred Karlsson, Lars Werdelin, Petri Pellikka and Mikael Fortelius. House of the Estates (Säätytalo), Snellmaninkatu 9-11.
Please register at: http://survey.tsv.fi/index.php/survey/index/sid/345372/lang/en

– May 6, 18:00. Yrjö Reenpää Lecture by legendary needs-no-introduction palaeoanthropologist Richard Leakey, Kenya: “50 years of African origins as both researcher and observer”. University of Helsinki Great Hall (main building, Unioninkatu 34).

And finally, a very special and rare treat:

– May 7, 14:15. Legendary palaeoanthropologist Meave Leakey, Kenya: “Surprises from the Past”. First-hand account by the scientist who has been coordinating the research in the Kenyan Turkana Basin for the last several decades. Björn Kurtén Club, Physicum D101, Kumpula Campus.

Welcome,

Allu & Mikael

Kurtén Club 21.4., special events for next weeks

Dear All,

tomorrow, Fabien Lafuma will give a talk about

Evolutionary study of tooth shape in squamate reptiles.

Time & Loc.:
16.00, 21.4.2015, C108 Physicum, Kumpula

Next week, Prof. Bernard Wood, George Washington University, will give a talk in the club about “Can developmental biology help recover phylogeny?”. The venue will be announced later.

Also,
Interested in human evolution, development, phylogeny, or conservation? Please consider three quite exceptional events in the near future:

– April 29, 9:00-15:00. Symposium on Understanding Humans in their Early Context. Speakers include Bernard Wood, Jukka Jernvall, Fred Karlsson, Lars Werdelin, Petri Pellikka and Mikael Fortelius. House of the Estates (Säätytalo), Snellmaninkatu 9-11.
Please register at: http://survey.tsv.fi/index.php/survey/index/sid/345372/lang/en

– May 6, 18:00. Yrjö Reenpää Lecture by legendary needs-no-introduction palaeoanthropologist Richard Leakey, Kenya: “50 years of African origins as both researcher and observer”. University of Helsinki Great Hall (main building, Unioninkatu 34).

And finally, a very special and rare treat:

– May 7, 14:15. Legendary palaeoanthropologist Meave Leakey, Kenya: “Surprises from the Past”. First-hand account by the scientist who has been coordinating the research in the Kenyan Turkana Basin for the last several decades. Björn Kurtén Club, Physicum D101, Kumpula Campus.

Welcome,
Allu & Mikael