Darwin, Evo-Devo, and Evolutionary Novelty

33rd Annual Darwin Lecture at the University of Calgary

Today’s organisms evolved from those in the past. So how can evolution invent anything truly new?

Dr. Doug Erwin presents a free lecture on February 9 at the University of Calgary.

In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin viewed novelty as a consequence of gradual transformation driven by natural selection.  Darwin’s views were challenged by others, including his good friend Thomas Huxley, who argued for more abrupt transitions. This tension between transformationist and saltational views predates The Origin and continues today. In his Darwin Lecture, Dr. Doug Erwin will describe how modern studies of development shed new light on the old question of how evolution invents.

Dr. Doug Erwin is one of the world’s leading paleontologists. He is Curator of Paleozoic Invertebrates at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and author of the recent book Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago.

Friday, February 9, 2018
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Science B, Room 103
Free admission

RSVP at 33rddarwinlecture.eventbrite.ca.