Seminar Title:  Why are organisms the size they are? 

Abstract: This seems like a simple question that was answered a long time ago. The more I read however, the less confident I am that we actually know. I have been trying to understand the proximate and ultimate drivers of biological size. Using a series of artificial selection experiments, experimental evolution and comparative analyses, I have been exploring both the causes and consequences of size, using bacteria, phytoplankton and metazoans. In this talk, I will argue that many of the more famous models of growth have assumptions that don’t match reality, with calamitous consequences for things like the management of exploited species.  Hopefully I will show that better understanding of growth and size is essential if we are to predict the impacts of human activities on biology.