Emeritus Academy Lecture Series: William Ausich

Emeritus Academy Lecture Series

Bill Ausich, Professor Emeritus
Biosphere Collapse and Recovery: Lessons from the Fossil Record
William Ausich
School of Earth Sciences

"Biosphere Collapse and Recovery: Lessons from the Fossil Record"

February 7, 2018
4 - 5 p.m.
Grand Lounge, Faculty Club

Description

Earth is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis with extinctions occurring at an alarmingly high rate. However, this is not unique, as major mass extinctions have occurred through the evolutionary history of life on Earth. One avenue of research to address the present-day crisis is to study ancient extinctions and faunal recoveries to help understand their causes and to help reduce the severity of biodiversity crises. The causes of ancient mass extinctions and recoveries are explored using the fossil record of the Crinoidea (sea lilies and feather stars, phylum Echinodermata) marine organisms that dominated ocean floor communities during much of Earth history.

For questions concerning accessibility accommodations related to the event video, please contact oaawebmaster@osu.edu.