LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD, AND LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY (Invited Presentation)

Since I took my first paleontology class 50 years ago, our science and how we do it, how we teach it, and who participates in it have changed. In 1973, the journal Paleobiology did not exist and ~85% of Journal of Paleontology articles were taxonomic or faunal descriptions. But the “paleobiological revolution” was brewing, with conceptual advances in evolution and paleoecology sensu lato.

My journey as paleontologist and educator has paralleled developments in the discipline. I’ve been fortunate to participate in blossoming research areas: tempo and mode of evolution (testing punctuated equilibria); evolutionary paleoecology (temporal dynamics of molluscan predator-prey systems, concepts of escalation and coevolution). Many unresolved questions can guide future work; e.g., the relationship of speciation and morphological evolution, including if adaptation of prey to predators and vice versa accumulates within species or only during speciation. More broadly, what roles do biotic and abiotic factors play in macroevolution and do the roles vary temporally and geographically? More specimen-based research applying new quantitative analyses to traits and interactions is needed.

I conducted my early research solo or with one or two paleontologist collaborators. But big questions require cross-disciplinary thinking and diverse perspectives, and my collaborations expanded beyond paleontology and geology. I began taking risks in teaching by replacing traditional lectures with student-centered approaches; merging my teaching and research added a diversity of student collaborators from my Research Experiences for Undergraduates and course-based research projects. This trajectory of integrating teaching and research and broadening the field and its participants must continue, including increasing demographic diversity.

We need to think broadly. Our field is more relevant than ever, including via Conservation Paleobiology (CPB), another new area in which I’ve worked. CPB is not just drawing conservation implications from our usual research, but co-producing knowledge with stakeholders to assist in conservation. We can prepare students for CPB careers in and beyond academia by identifying core competencies and pedagogies to foster them. Let’s work to fulfill paleontology’s potential to serve society!