Vertebrate Palaeontology
Our research in Vertebrate Palaeontology focuses on major transitions in vertebrate evolution, the origins of key vertebrate groups, the long-term patterns and drivers of vertebrate diversity, macroevolution and biogeography in deep time, and vertebrate palaeobiology and functional morphology. Our taxonomic expertise ranges from the earliest vertebrates to Mesozoic dinosaurs and early Cenozoic mammals. Current key research projects are focused on:
- The origin and evolution of the vertebrate skeleton
- The origins of major groups of fish
- Patterns of diversification and extinction in the Palaeozoic fish record
- Reconstructing major changes in species richness of terrestrial tetrapods across the Phanerozoic
- Permian–Jurassic terrestrial tetrapods and the early evolutionary radiations of dinosaurs and their close relatives
- Functional morphology of fossil tetrapods, including early mammals, dinosaurs, and turtles
- Digital hard- and soft-tissue reconstruction of fossil vertebrates
- Origin, diversification and evolutionary relationships of placental mammals
Micropalaeontology
Our research in Micropalaeontology covers all the major marine microfossil groups - foraminifera, coccolithophores, dinoflagellates, condonts and ostracods – as well as terrestrial pollen and spore communities. We use these to reconstruct long-term macroevolutionary patterns, short-term ecosystems perturbations and the relationship between climate, environments and life. Research expertise spans from the early Palaeozoic through to the modern system. There are close links with the Palaeontology research theme and many projects are based on material recovered from major international scientific drilling programs (e.g., IODP, ICDP).
Palaeobotany
Our research in Palaeobotany is focused on long-term plant evolution, terrestrial palaeoenvironments and palaeoecology. One of our fundamental goals is to increase the quantity of paleobotanical data included into evolutionary analyses and to provide a more detailed understanding of the past environments and climates in which fossil plants lived.
Highlights of our research include the evolution of seed plants and their phylogeny, community change in fossil floras, such as the Late Palaeozoic Cathaysian floras and gigantopterid plants, and the origin of modern conifer families. Current research focus includes lignophyte (seed plants and their evolutionary stem group) phylogeny and the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic floras of China.
Geobiology
Geobiology explores the interactions between the physical earth (rocks, minerals, sediments, soils) and the biosphere (particularly microbes). Our geobiological research spans huge temporal and spatial timescales – from ancient microbially-mediated sedimentary rocks to modern biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients and trace elements in sediments and soils.
We seek to understand how microbial processes govern biogeochemical cycles, how the activities of microbes are recorded in the rock record, and how the biosphere and the geosphere have co-evolved. This work brings together researchers from the Earth Sciences and Physical Geography research groups.