A genomic perspective on the evolution of pinniped lipid metabolism and lactation traits

Events - Seminars in Biodiversity & Evolution

14 Nov 2025 - Simon J. Goodman, University of Leeds | 15h30 | Hybrid Seminar

A genomic perspective on the evolution of pinniped lipid metabolism and lactation traits

REGULAR SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

Pinnipeds (seals, fur seals, sea lions and walrus) are a monophyletic carnivore lineage whose terrestrial ancestors recolonised marine environments around 30 million years ago. They are an important mammalian example of how the evolution of radical morphological and physiological adaptions facilitate exploitation of novel niches. A key feature of pinniped annual life histories is spatiotemporal partitioning of foraging and breeding, enabled by blubber for energy storage and high fat milks (up to 60% fat in some species) to support pup development. Pinnipeds have thus evolved some of the most extreme lipid and lactation physiology of any mammalian group. In this talk I will explore how genomic, molecular evolution, and transcriptomic analyses are yielding insights into some of the genes and mechanisms that might underpin key pinniped lipid metabolism and lactation traits. The results are relevant to understanding the drivers of marine mammal evolution and vulnerability to environmental change, and may also have future potential to inform pathways and targets of biomedical interest.

Simon Goodman gained his PhD from the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK, studying the population genetics of European harbour seals. This was followed by a post-doc at the University of Edinburgh working on the ecological genetics of hybridisation between red deer and sika deer, and then a research fellowship at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London focusing on the genetics and ecology of disease threats to Galapagos fauna. Since 2004 he has been based at the School of Biology, University of Leeds, with research interests spanning ecological and evolutionary genomics, disease ecology and conservation biology. He is particularly interested in marine mammal genomics and conservation, use of novel technology such as eDNA to support biodiversity monitoring, and disease impacts on endangered species. He is co-chair of the IUCN Pinniped Specialist Group, and member of the IUCN Parasite Specialist Group.

[Host: Laura Najera-Cortazar, Applied Ecology - APPLECOL]

Zoom Link (Passcode: 332211)