SPINELESS: MARINE ANIMALS, BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION
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Nicole Yen

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 Phylogenetics and Biogeography of deep sea dorvilleidae  polychaetes

 Graduate Student
 Scripps Institution of Oceanography  
 University of California, San Diego

 B.S. in Biology: Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution with Minor in Marine Science
 University of California, San Diego

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Interests

In deep-sea ecosystems, organic particles and detritus often fall as marine snow, including intact whale carcasses which provide a significant local food source for benthic fauna. Remarkably, the deposition of whale-fall generates sulfur-based chemoautotrophic communities that feed on the lipid-rich skeletons, analogous to cold seeps and hydrothermal vents.

I am currently interested in using phylogenetic tools to investigate the evolution and biogeography of dorvilleid polychaetes found in Eastern Pacific hydrothermal vents, seeps, and whale-falls. I am also interested in the mapping of life-history characters and patterns of larval dispersal for conservation and management goals.

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