Meeting Abstract

S10-1   08:30 - 09:00  Introduction to the Symposium: Integrating ecology and biomechanics to investigate patterns of phenotypic diversity: Evolution, development, and functional traits Ferry, LA*; Higham, TE; Arizona State University; University of California Riverside Lara.Ferry@asu.edu http://morphology.asu.edu

Over the last several decades we have seen the rise of biomechanics as a field in its own right, contributing to the ways in which we seek to understand the diversity of life. However, such approaches are less well integrated into studies of a changing world, as we are certainly facing now. Our aim is to harness the power of biomechanical models, and biomechanics in general, to advance our understanding of ecological patterns, evolution, and diversity. In this symposium, our speakers and their collaborators will share original research that effectively integrates ecological concepts and principles with biomechanics, doing so through the lens of evolution, robotics, development, and/or functional morphology. This ‘ecomechanical approach’ informs our ability to predict species shifts in distribution or survival, and provides critical insight into consequences for phenotypic diversity. The organisms covered in our symposium will include a wide-range, such as plants (aquatic and terrestrial), invertebrates (marine and terrestrial), and vertebrates (aquatic, aerial, and terrestrial). This highlights the overarching impact of this relatively new approach.