BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:The rise of life on land: new insights from exceptionally preserve
 d fossils - Dr Sandy Hetherington
DTSTART:20241105T180000Z
DTEND:20241105T193000Z
UID:TALK221128@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Zhang Xianghao Jeffrey
DESCRIPTION:The rise of complex eukaryotic life on land represents one of 
 the great transitions in Earth history. This major transition occurred dur
 ing the Phanerozoic eon that started roughly 540 million years ago (Ma) an
 d takes us through to the present day. At the beginning of the Phanerozoic
 \, life on land was microbial and likely marginal but this was all about t
 o change. Plants\, animals and fungi diversified in unison and by the Devo
 nian period roughly 380 Ma the terrestrial surface was covered in forests\
 , harbouring complex fungal symbionts and a large diversity of animals inc
 luding insects and tetrapods. Establishing what underpinned this radiation
  of life on land represents a key goal in evolutionary biology. However\, 
 it is also challenging as it requires piecing together data taken from a f
 ragmentary and biased fossil record. In the talk I will describe how excep
 tionally preserve fossils from the United Kingdom provide unique insights 
 onto the diversification of life on land including the evolution of plant 
 leaves and the complex interactions between plants\, animals and fungi.\n\
 nTalks are priced at £4 for non-Scientific Society members. Scientific So
 ciety members will have free access to all our talks. Lifetime membership 
 costs £15 and gives free access to all talks\, members-only events and pr
 iority access to oversubscribed SciSoc events.
LOCATION:Pfizer Lecture Theatre\,  Department of Chemistry\, Lensfield Roa
 d
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR