| Abstract Detail
Beringia!: Current Insights on the Geology, Climate, Paleontology, Floristic Assembly, and Biodiversity of a Subcontinent that is Central to Northern Hemisphere Biogeography Harris, AJ [1], Xiang, Qiuyun (Jenny) [2], Ickert-Bond, Steffi [3]. Beringia!: Current Insights on the Geology, Climate, Paleontology, Floristic Assembly, and Biodiversity of a Subcontinent that is Central to Northern Hemisphere Biogeography. Beringia comprises the high latitude, subcontinental region that once bridged the northern Pacific Ocean and facilitated migration of plants and animals (including people) between North America and Eurasia. In the modern time, Beringia is partially submerged beneath the northern Pacific and Arctic Oceans but remains emergent within Russia, Alaska, and northern Canada. The subcontinent represents a key to understanding how patterns of modern floristic diversity in the Northern Hemisphere emerged and, simultaneously, is home to a vital ecological system supporting Arctic life. While the role of Beringia in facilitating patterns of modern biodiversity in Eurasia and North America are widely studied, historical and modern-day aspects of the subcontinent itself remain less well known. Therefore, our integrative symposium on Beringia brings together experts from diverse scientific fields, including those not typically represented at Botanical Society of America (BSA) meetings, and has the objective to cover emerging research and thinking on the following broad topics: 1) geological, climatic, and paleontological history; 2) role in historical biogeography, floristic exchange and assembly; 3) modern biodiversity; and 4) insights on teaching about the subcontinent. Speakers in this symposium include those familiar to the community who will discuss their newest findings, as well as experts from the fields of geology, climatology, and vertebrate paleontology. We have selected speakers who have made, and continue to make, invaluable contributions to research on Beringia and who reflect gender, cultural, and ethnic diversity within our scientific community. Our symposium has a novel format consisting of six talks followed by a later forum for questions and discussion among the speakers and early-career attendees, especially undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs.
1 - South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Xingke Road 723, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 44, 510650, China
2 - North Carolina State University, Plant And Microbial Biology, 100 Derieux Place, Gardner Hall 2115, Raleigh, NC, 27695, United States
3 - University of Alaska Fairbanks, Herbarium (ALA) and Dept of Biology and Wildlife, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
Keywords:
none specified
Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Number: S1SUM
Abstract ID:1250
Candidate for Awards:None |
