Invitation to the lecture by prof. Dr. Karin Elisabeth Rengefors

You are cordially invited to a lecture by prof. Dr. Karin Elisabeth Rengefors Aquatic Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden entitled: Speciation, dispers patterns inal, and invasion microalgae

A fundamental question in ecology is whether microorganisms (including phytoplankton) exhibit biogeographic patterns as a result of geographic isolation, in the same way as macro organisms do. It has been argued that microorganisms have unlimited dispersal and consequently reduced opportunities for allopathic divergence. My approach to address this issue is to investigate genetic diversity and dispersal at the population rather than species level. I will illustrate this with some examples from my research on marine and freshwater phytoplankton. Some of the questions I have addressed are: (1) is their genetic differentiation among populations in nearby lakes, (2) do populations show evidence of local adaptation, (3) has a nuisance species recently invaded new lakes, and (4) is the unexpected diversity in a dinoflagellate lineage a result of a recent speciation event? I will present the results and questions that have arisen from this work.

The lecture will be held on Friday, 4 October 2013, at 14.00 am in the conference room of the Marine Biology Station in Piran.

Prepared by: Jana Gregorič