1. Exploring Biodiversity for Solutions

2. BioDiversity 1,300,000 species described Likely over 8,000,000 total
Wheeler 1990

3. Some tools for exploring biodiversity
Explore trees
Target key innovations
Identify independent origins
Target selective environments
Browse natural history records
Dig into the literature
Ask a biologist

4. Organizing Life
Phylogeny: hypothesized evolutionary relationships among a group of species

5. Target Clades with Key Innovations
Explore variation in that trait between environments, lineages, etc.
Gamble et al 2012 PLoS One

6. Identify multiple evolutionary origins
For a particular trait
For solving a particular problem

7. Target Selective Environments
Can you distill your problem into an environment organisms are adapted to?

8. Browse databases & natural history records
What are certain species or lineages really “good at?”

9. Browse databases & natural history records
What are certain species or lineages really “good at?”

10. Research the mechanism
Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar

11. Ask a Biologist
We are always excited to talk about our study organisms!
200+ biologists at the University (CBS, CFANS)
Find a specialist for your group of interest
College of Biological Sciences website
Bell Museum collections