Kaustuv Roy

 

 

 

Research in my lab is focused on understanding the processes that determine the spatial and temporal distribution of biological diversity in the sea, emphasizing not just the traditional counts of species, but also functional groups and morphological diversity. In particular we are using marine mollusks as a focal group to (i) test hypotheses about the origin and maintenance of the spatial patterns of species diversity in the ocean; (ii) better understand the effects of climatic and environmental change on shallow marine species and communities; and (iii) quantify spatial patterns of morphological diversity in marine invertebrates and explore the ecological and evolutionary basis of these patterns. In addition, we have just initiated a large research project quantifying the effects of human impacts on the rocky intertidal biota of southern California. Research in my lab is interdisciplinary in nature and combines ecological and biogeographic data from living populations with the deep time perspective afforded by the rich fossil record of mollusks, as well as collaborative work on molecular phylogeny and population structures of selected clades.