Note: Underlined author denotes designated speaker. | *Candidates for the President’s Prize are marked with an asterisk.
Sunday 15th to Tuesday 17th December
The pre-conference field-trip will depart from Valencia on the 15th of December early in the morning and return on the 17th late in the afternoon. Field-trip leader: Samuel Zamora
Wednesday 18th December
The meeting will begin with several workshops which will run concurrently from 09.00 – 12.30. Most will be led by specialists from Transmitting Science on the application of analytical techniques for the study of fossils. They will be followed by the symposium.
Pre-Meeting Workshops
Locations: see Maps
| 09.00 – 12.30 |
Introduction to biomechanics and finite element analysis Dr Jordi Marcé-Nogué (University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, USA) Finite element analysis (FEA) is a great tool for biologists, palaeontologists, doctors, veterinarians, and other life sciences specialties in which researchers face questions about biomechanics of living and extinct organisms. Elements like bone, arthropod exoskeleton, mollusk shell, or the stems and leaves of plants can be analysed using this technique. In this workshop there will be an introduction to biomechanics and FEA. Location: Salon de Grados, Philology |
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| 09.00 – 12.30 |
First steps into geometric morphometrics Dr Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno (Transmitting Science, Spain) This short workshop will introduce some basic concepts in Geometric Morphometrics. It will consist of some theoretical explanations followed by software demonstrations. We will cover the following topics: Comparing forms, what is it all about?; What is a landmark?, differences between landmarks and configurations; Let´s do it!: translation, rotation and scaling; Removing size: Centroid Size (CS) and allometry; Generalized Least Squares (GLS), why this and not other techniques?; Visualization: Thin Plate Spline, Lollipop Graphs; Taking the general picture: Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Location: Natural Sciences Museum of Valencia |
| 09.00 – 12.30 |
Essentials of anatomical network analysis Dr Borja Esteve-Altava (Instituto de Biología Evolutiva, Barcelona, Spain) and Dr Diego Rasskin-Gutman (University of Valencia, Spain) Network analysis allows one to quantify and compare disparate forms (extinct and extant) by focusing on the topological features of anatomical systems. In this course, you will learn the essential tools to perform an anatomical network analysis of your system of interest. Location: Crystal Room, Philology |
| 09.00 – 12.30 |
Using phylogenies in palaeobiological studies Dr Juan L. Cantalapiedra (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain) Phylogenetic methods that integrate fossil information are a powerful tool to reconstruct macroevolutionary patterns. In this workshop, we will review some of the palaeobiological questions that we can address using fossil-rich phylogenetic trees. Location: Room 202, Philosophy |
| 09.00 – 12.30 |
Introduction to graphic design for scientists Dr Oscar Sanisidro (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain) Palaeontological research is often supported by graphics like photographs, schemes, or graphs. They make use of technical and aesthetic criteria to transmit scientific information. During this workshop, we will learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator© and Adobe Photoshop©, the tools of the trade of many modern technical illustrations. As a result, the attendants will be able to produce their own figures in an efficient and professional way, streamline the process of figure creation for scientific publication and optimizing them for their final publication. Location: Professors Meeting Room, Philology |
| 09.00 – 12.30 |
Introduction to 3D data visualization and segmentation using Avizo Dr John Cunningham (University of Bristol, UK) and Dr Carlos Martinez-Perez (University of Valencia, Spain) Following the previous year’s workshop and the topic of the Annual Symposium, this workshop will provide a practical introduction to the Avizo 3D software package for working with 3D tomographic datasets. These include datasets generated by synchrotron- or computed-tomography imaging techniques that are used widely in palaeontology. There will be a brief introduction to 3D tomographic techniques, followed by hands-on introduction to using the software for image visualization and segmentation. The workshop is suitable for researchers at any level with no, or limited, prior experience of working with 3D data. This workshop is developed in the frame of the UNESCO-IGCP-652. Location: Room S03, Philosophy |
Registration
| 12.00 – 17.30 | Registration - Faculty of Philosophy |
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Symposium: Virtual Palaeontology
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps)
| 13.30 – 13.45 | WELCOME |
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| 13.45 – 14.15 |
Digitizing the vertebrate palaeontology collection of the Museum für Naturkunde of Berlin: preserving our natural history heritage by assessing different digitalization techniques Dr Verónica Díez-Díaz (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany) |
| 15.15 – 14.45 |
Virtual footprints: simulation and digitization elucidate deep track formation Dr Peter L. Falkingham (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and Prof. Stephen M. Gatesy (Brown University, USA) |
| 14.45 – 15.15 |
Synchrotron X-rays: new developments to reveal fossil bone microstructures in three dimensions Dr Sophie Sanchez (Uppsala University, Sweden) |
| 15.15 – 16.00 | TEA/COFFEE BREAK |
| 16.00 – 16.30 |
Computational fluid dynamics as a tool for testing functional and ecological hypotheses in fossil taxa Dr Imran A. Rahman (Oxford University Museum of Natural History, UK) |
| 16.30 – 17.00 |
Finite elements, morphometrics, extant animals and accuracy Dr Jen A. Bright (University of South Florida, USA) |
| 17.00 – 17.30 |
Multibody dynamics analysis (MDA) as a tool to reconstruct the function and palaeobiology of extinct organisms Dr Stephan Lautenschlager (University of Birmingham, UK) |
Ice-Breaker Reception
| 18.00 – 21.00 | Ice-breaker Reception - Natural Science Museum of Valencia (see Maps) |
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Thursday 19th December
| 08.00 – 08.45 | Poster set-up in Faculty of Philosophy |
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Session 1A (in parallel with session 1B)
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Emily Rayfield
| 09.00 – 09.15 |
Success of early archosauromorphs: a case of positive phenotypic selection? *Armin Elsler, Suresh Singh, Michael J. Benton, Marcello Ruta and Alexander M. Dunhill |
|---|---|
| 09.15 – 09.30 |
Reconstructing diets of extinct reptiles from the Solnhofen Archipelago using dental microwear texture analysis *Jordan Bestwick, David M. Unwin and Mark A. Purnell |
| 09.30 – 09.45 |
Lagerstätte effect on notosuchian palaeodiversity (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia) *Ane de Celis, Iván Narváez, Andrea Arcucci and Francisco Ortega |
| 09.45 – 10.00 |
Palaeogene–Neogene squamates and their spatial and temporal relationships with climatic drivers and sampling biases *Terri J. Cleary, Alex Farnsworth and Richard J. Butler |
| 10.00 – 10.15 |
A late Barremian food web through fossil faeces: an isotopic insight on the ecology of the Las Hoyas fossil site (Cuenca, Spain) *Sandra Barrios-de Pedro, Karyne M. Rogers, Paloma Alcorlo and Ángela D. Buscalioni |
Session 1B (in parallel with session 1A)
Room: Salon Actos Philosophy (see Maps) | Chair: Orla Bath Enright
| 09.00 – 09.15 |
Evolution of trilobite development and global ecosystem changes Lukáš Laibl |
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| 09.15 – 09.30 |
Reconstructing the feeding apparatus of Amplectobeluidae (Radiodonta: stem Euarthropoda) Peiyun Cong, Jin Guo, Gregory D. Edgecombe, Allison C. Daley and Xianguang Hou |
| 09.30 – 09.45 |
Aluminosilicate haloes fossilize complex life over 800 million years ago Ross P. Anderson, Nicholas J. Tosca, Gianfelice Cinque, Mark Frogley, Ioannis Lekkas, Austin Akey et al. |
| 09.45 – 10.00 |
Global climate changes account for the main trends of conodont diversity but not for their final demise Samuel Ginot and Nicolas Goudemand |
| 10.00 – 10.15 |
An innovative synchrotron approach to access the chemical nature of carbon in 2D or 3D in large organic fossils Pierre Gueriau, Rafaella Georgiou, Christoph J. Sahle, Sylvain Bernard, Alessandro Mirone, Romain Garrouste et al. |
Tea/coffee break and posters
| 10.15 – 11.00 | TEA/COFFEE BREAK and POSTERS |
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Session 2A (in parallel with session 2B)
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Duncan Murdock
| 11.00 – 11.15 |
Biogeography of conodonts in the Early Triassic *Pauline Guenser, Gilles Escarguel and Nicolas Goudemand |
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| 11.15 – 11.30 |
Albalimulus: the oldest limulid *Russell D. C. Bicknell and Stephen Pates |
| 11.30 – 11.45 |
Biogenic iron liberated during decay initializes highly detailed soft tissue pyritization in Burgess Shale-type biotas *Farid Saleh, Allison C. Daley, Bertrand Lefebvre, Bernard Pittet and Jean Philippe Perrillat |
| 11.45 – 12.00 |
Soft tissue associations reveal the influence of preservation on biodiversity in Burgess Shale-type fossil deposits Allison C. Daley, Farid Saleh, Bertrand Lefebvre, Bernard Pittet, Lukáš Laibl, Francesc Perez Peris et al. |
| 12.00 – 12.15 |
A giant sediment-sifting hurdiid from the Burgess Shale illuminates hurdiid carapace diversity and highlights competition for prey resources Jean-Bernard Caron and Joseph Moysiuk |
Session 2B (in parallel with session 2A)
Room: Salon Actos Philosophy (see Maps) | Chair: Soledad de Esteban-Trivigno
| 11.00 – 11.15 |
A finite element model on vibrations of Weberian ossicles of cypriniform fish using harmonic analysis Jordi Marcé-Nogué and Juan Liu |
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| 11.15 – 11.30 |
Stable isotopes of rodent tooth enamel provide new evidence on Miocene ape environments in the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia) Isaac Casanovas-Vilar, Yuri Kimura, Lawrence J. Flynn, David Pilbeam, Salvador Moyà-Solà and David M. Alba |
| 11.30 – 11.45 |
Untangling the fossil record of Rhinocerotidae Oscar Sanisidro Morant and Juan López Cantalapiedra |
| 11.45 – 12.00 |
The nature, evolution and ecology of nonavian and avian egg colour Jasmina Wiemann |
| 12.00 – 12.15 |
The impact of the resurgence of carbonate platforms on the re-diversification of level-bottom faunas after the end-Permian mass extinction Evelyn Friesenbichler, Michael Hautmann and Hugo Bucher |
Lunch, posters, and diversity meet-up
| 12.15 – 13.30 | LUNCH, POSTERS, and DIVERSITY MEET-UP |
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Session 3
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Soledad Domingo
| 13.30 – 13.45 |
Exploring the topological impact of paleontological data in phylogenetic hypotheses *Nicolas Mongiardino Koch and Luke A. Parry |
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| 13.45 – 14.00 |
Disentangling taphonomic and ecological signals in fossil food webs *Jack Shaw, Kate Wootton, Emily Coco, Dries Daems, Andrew Gillreath-Brown and Anshuman Swain |
| 14.00 – 14.15 |
Poor spatial sampling coverage obscures our understanding of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in deep time Lewis A. Jones, Christopher D. Dean, Philip D. Mannion and Peter A. Allison |
| 14.15 – 14.30 |
Unique locomotor habits in Early Palaeogene mammals provides ecomorphological insight into evolution after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction Sarah L. Shelley, Stephen L. Brusatte and Thomas Williamson |
| 14.30 – 14.45 |
The early diversity dynamics of the great evolutionary floras Eliott Capel, Christopher J. Cleal, Philippe Gerrienne and Borja Cascales-Miñana |
Annual General Meeting
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps)
| 14.45 – 15.30 | Annual General Meeting (AGM). All members of the Association are asked to attend. |
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Tea/coffee break and posters
| 15.30 – 16.00 | TEA/COFFEE BREAK and POSTERS |
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Annual Address
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps)
| 16.00 – 17.00 |
Not just skin deep: probing the secrets of fossil melanin using taphonomic experiments and analytical chemistry Maria E. McNamara |
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Poster Session
Location: Faculty of Philosophy (see Maps)
| 17.00 – 18.00 | POSTER SESSION |
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Reception and Annual Dinner
Location: Albufera nature reserve
| 19.30 | Transport from Faculty of Philosophy |
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| 20.00 – 20.30 | Reception |
| 20.30 – 01.00 | Annual Dinner |
Friday 20th December
Session 4A (in parallel with session 4B)
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Javier Alvaro
| 09.00 – 09.15 |
The origin of modern birds: new information from the Cretaceous stem bird Ichthyornis *Juan Benito, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, David Burnham, Laura E. Wilson and Daniel J. Field |
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| 09.15 – 09.30 |
Comparison of modern and fossil Forcipulatacea (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) skeletal ossicles reveals the early diversification of this major order *Marine Fau, Loïc Villier and Timothy A. M. Ewin |
| 09.30 – 09.45 |
To the bitter end: do planktonic foraminifera actively change their niche habit prior to extinction? *Adam D. Woodhouse, Sophie Jackson, Philip F. Sexton, Paul N. Pearson, Stewart Knott, Alexander M. Dunhill et al. |
| 09.45 – 10.00 |
Phylogenetics of true crabs, and the early origins of crab-like forms *Javier Luque, Heather D. Bracken-Grissom, Javier Ortega-Hernández and Joanna M. Wolfe |
| 10.00 – 10.15 |
Interpreting colour patterns in aquatic vertebrates: decay-induced changes to the distribution and morphology of melanosomes throughout pigmented tissues *Christopher Nedza, Mark A. Purnell, Jakob Vinther and Sarah E. Gabbott |
Session 4B (in parallel with session 4A)
Room: Salon Actos Philosophy (see Maps) | Chair: Kenneth de Baets
| 09.00 – 09.15 |
The Cambrian evolution of Chelicerates Rudy Lerosey-Aubril and Javier Ortega-Hernández |
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| 09.15 – 09.30 |
The forgotten latest Cambrian nautiloid cephalopods from Black Mountain (NW Queensland, Australia) Alexander Pohle, Peter A. Jell, Yong-Yi Zhen, Christian Klug |
| 09.30 – 09.45 |
Prey fractionation in the Archaeocyatha and its implication for the ecology of the first animal reef systems Jonathan B. Antcliffe, William Jessop and Allison C. Daley |
| 09.45 – 10.00 |
Somatic versus reproductive investment in Antarctothoa tongima over two million years Emanuela Di Martino and Lee Hsiang Liow |
| 10.00 – 10.15 |
Impact of digenetic and metamorphic overprint on our view of Cambrian Lagerstätten: a case study from North Greenland Morten Lunde Nielsen, Mirinae Lee, Philip R. Wilby, Hong Chin Ng, Katharine R. Hendry, Arne T. Nielsen et. al |
Tea/coffee break and posters
| 10.15 – 11.00 | TEA/COFFEE BREAK and POSTERS |
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Session 5A (in parallel with session 5B)
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Mike Benton
| 11.00 – 11.15 |
Was complex life excluded from tropical latitudes in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction? *Bethany J. Allen, Paul B. Wignall, Daniel J. Hill, Erin E. Saupe and Alexander M. Dunhill |
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| 11.15 – 11.30 |
Aragonite-calcite sea effects on calcifying organisms and reefs *Kilian Eichensee1, Uwe Balthasar, Christopher W. Smart, Julian Stander, Kristian A. Haaga and Wolfgang Kiessling |
| 11.30 – 11.45 |
New insights into the vital effect during brachiopod shell formation and its relevance to the geochemical record *María del Mar Simonet Roda, Andreas Ziegler, Erika Griesshaber, Daniela Henkel, Vreni Häusermann et al. |
| 11.45 – 12.00 |
The phylogenetic history of the armoured dinosaurs (Ornithischia, Thyreophora) *Thomas J. Raven, Paul M. Barrett and Susannah C.R. Maidment |
| 12.00 – 12.15 |
Bone fusion and morphological change: an unexplored relationship in tetrapod macroevolution Aitor Navarro Diaz, Diego Rasskin Gutman and Borja Esteve Altava |
Session 5B (in parallel with session 5A)
Room: Salon Actos Philosophy (see Maps) | Chair: Alex Liu
| 11.00 – 11.15 |
Arm waving in stylophoran echinoderms: insights into the function of the aulacophore through 3D imaging and digital modelling Elizabeth Clark, John R. Hutchinson, Peter J. Bishop and Derek E. G. Briggs |
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| 11.15 – 11.30 |
Juvenile skeletogenesis and implications for body plan evolution in echinoids Jeffrey Thompson and Paola Oliveri |
| 11.30 – 11.45 |
Constraining morphological disparity in rangeomorphs Charlotte Kenchington, Frances S. Dunn, Alexander G. Liu and Philip R. Wilby |
| 11.45 – 12.00 |
Ediacaran life close to land: coastal and shoreface environments of the Ediacara biota of South Australia William McMahon, Alexander G. Liu and Maarten Kleinhans |
| 12.00 – 12.15 |
The Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: the emerging record from small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) Ben J. Slater, Thomas H. P. Harvey, Romain Guilbaud, Sebastian Willman, Graham E. Budd and Nicholas J. Butterfield |
Lunch and posters
Location: Faculty of Philosophy (see Maps)
| 12.15 – 13.30 | LUNCH and POSTERS |
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Session 6
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Christian Klug
| 13.30 – 13.45 |
Overcoming the challenges of studying the earliest macrofossils: a case study from the middle Ediacaran (pre-Gaskiers) of Newfoundland Alexander G. Liu and Benjamin H. Tindal |
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| 13.45 – 14.00 |
Tracking the origin of an ancient genome duplication in teleost fishes using fossilized bone cell spaces Donald Davesne, Armin D. Schmitt, Matt Friedman, Per E. Ahlberg, Vincent Fernandez, Sophie Sanchez and Roger B. J. Benson |
| 14.00 – 14.15 |
Breathing new life into the earliest soft-bodied animals: computed tomography of early Cambrian fossils from South China Joanna M. Wolfe, Javier Ortega-Hernández, Dayou Zhai and Yu Liu |
| 14.15 – 14.30 |
Molecular developmental genetics, homology and ancestral organisms: what about fossils and morphology? Arsham Nejad Kourki, Jakob Vinther and Philip C.J. Donoghue |
| 14.30 – 14.45 |
Moms: how to measure occupancy in multidimensional space (disparity)? Thomas Guillerme, Mark Puttick, Ariel Marcy and Vera Weisbecker |
| 14.45 – 15.00 |
A novel Bayesian phylodynamic approach to estimating diversity from the fossil record Rachel C. M. Warnock, Marc Manceau, Timothy G. Vaughan and Tanja Stadler |
| 15.00 – 15.15 |
New insights into early terrestrial environments using high resolution 3D imaging and chemical techniques Christine Strullu-Derrien, Alan R.T. Spencer and Paul Kenrick |
Tea/coffee break
| 15.15 – 16.00 | TEA/COFFEE BREAK - Take down posters. |
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Session 7
Room: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps) | Chair: Laura Domingo
| 16.00 – 16.15 |
Putting the AI into Palaeontology: using new methods of machine learning to capture evolutionary history Jennifer Hoyal Cuthill and Nicholas Guttenberg |
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| 16.15 – 16.30 |
A time to be born and a time to die: the life and death of stem groups Graham E. Budd and Richard P. Mann |
| 16.30 – 16.45 |
Will marine animals become smaller with continued global warming? Deep time tests of the ‘shrinking seafood’ hypothesis Richard J Twitchett |
| 16.45 – 17.00 |
Early Palaeozoic diversifications and extinctions in the marine biosphere: onwards and upwards David A. T. Harper, Borja Cascales-Miñana and Thomas Servais |
| 17.00 – 17.15 |
Should meristic characters be ordered in phylogenetic analysis? Neil Brocklehurst and Yara Haridy |
| 17.15 – 17.30 |
Evolutionary simulations demonstrate punctuated equilibrium Mark D. Sutton, Nicole L. Barnes and Russell J. Garwood |
Closing Business
Location: Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner - Faculty of Philology (see Maps)
| 17.30 – 18.00 |
Presentations from the organizing committees of PalAss 2020 (Manchester) and Progressive Palaeontology 2020 (Leeds/York) |
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| 18.00 |
Presentation of the President’s Prize and the Council Poster Prize followed by closing remarks. |
Saturday 21st December
Post-conference field-trip
Departure time is 08.00 from the Faculty of Philology. We are expecting to arrive back in Valencia around 19.30 but will be able to stop at Alicante Airport in route around 17.00-17.30 if needed. Field-trip leader: Hugo Corbí