On the Speciation of Species: The Fantastic Process Underlying Biodiversity

Papers in the pad, grains in the bread, cotton in the tog, milk in the jug— we rely on a vast diversity of living organisms to live. Where did such biodiversity come from? How do new species form over time? Evolutionary biology offers a time travel for us to watch speciation, the process in which previously interbreeding populations evolve reproductive isolation, becoming independent units of evolution.

Silu Wu is a PhD candidate studying Evolutionary Biology. She received BS from University of Toronto in Behavior, Genetics, and Neurobiology; an MA from University of Texas, Austin in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. She’s seeking to conserve biodiversity through the understanding of its nature and mechanisms.