Nicolas Goudemand

Last week (May 24), Guryul Ravine, near Srinagar, Kashmir

Hi everyone, I'm Nick, a physicist turned paleontologist. I'm currently a postdoc fellow at the Paleontological Institute and Museum of the Univ. of Zurich, Switzerland (PIMUZ).

My main interest is in the coupled histories of Earth and life on various spatial and time scales. My recent research experience includes the integrative use of paleontological, geochemical and sedimentological data in order to study the mechanisms that led to the greatest mass extinction of the Phanerozoic at the Permo-Triassic boundary (about 250 Ma).

During my PhD in paleontology I became an expert on conodonts, which were eel-shaped, marine animals. Their tooth-like phosphatic elements represent the earliest expression of a mineralized skeleton among vertebrates. These conodont elements are important index fossils from the Cambrian to the end of the Triassic. As such, not only they provide an interesting tool for evolutionary studies, but they also enable to construct timescales against which geological and biological events can be calibrated. Moreover, their chemical composition has remained relatively stable and hence they record past changes in the temperature and composition of oceans.

Some of my last results include a 3d reconstruction of their oro-pharyngeal apparatus at work (movie). In the near future I plan to use functional analysis of these ‘teeth’ to infer the potential location of different conodont taxa within past food webs and to study changes of these food webs’ topology in relation with evolutionary events (innovations, radiations, crisis). Because the morphology of these ‘teeth’ obviously do not reflect only functional purposes but also important developmental aspects (which are potentially common to extant vertebrates), another project that I’m currently preparing deals with the morphogenesis of these tooth-like elements.

During the last years I have devoted most of my efforts to the production and analysis of empirical data. In the near future I plan to focus on the development of data-driven theoretical models. In most of these projects, I have to deal with complex systems. Though my training as a physicist included some of the required tools, I feel that I might need an update on some of the topics addressed during the CSSS. My main motivation for attending (and actively participating in ;) ) the CSSS is to have the chance to meet the experts on these topics and hence get a current overview over potentials and limitations of complex systems research. It would also give me the opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of my educational cursus, and to reflect on my current research by stepping back and looking at new, wider horizons. I also expect that the stimulating discussions with you guys will lead to new ideas for my research and possibly to new collaborations.