Welcome to the Harnik Paleo Lab at Colgate University. Research in our lab focuses on how organisms respond to environmental change, specifically the capacities of species to adapt and move as well as their vulnerabilities to extinction. We investigate these themes in both modern and ancient marine systems through a combination of fieldwork, specimen-based study, and quantitative analysis. In order to predict the impacts of current and projected changes in ocean conditions on marine life, it is critical to understand how species have weathered analogous conditions in the past. Consequently, a central focus of our research is on patterns of biodiversity change preserved in the marine fossil record. Increasingly, our lab uses the remains of recently deceased organisms to determine the impacts of human activities, in particular eutrophication and climate change, on continental shelf ecosystems. By comparing live populations with the remains of historical populations preserved in seafloor sediments, we are measuring the pace of life history adaptation and establishing historical baselines for the diversity and abundance of marine organisms prior to the onset of industrial agriculture and commercial fishing.