A focus of our research is the Cambrian "explosion," arguably the greatest transition in the history of life, a better appreciation of which will improve our understanding of the broader aspects of the evolutionary process. Our approach involves novel interrogation of the early fossil record combined with leading-edge phylogenetic and morphometric techniques, and recognition of the powerful interplay between biological and planetary evolution. We are also a major centre for vertebrate palaeontology, again integrating biology (e.g. functional biology) and geology (e.g. plate tectonics and palaeobiogeography).
Community Structure, Evolution and Organismal Interaction
- The early evolution of eukaryotes, multicellularity and heterotrophy, particularly as they relate to ecological expansion through the Proterozoic and early Cambrian.
- ‘Ecosystem engineering' feedback effects of biological evolution.
- Ediacaran and Cambrian (especially Burgess Shale-type) faunas.
- The evolution and palaeobiology of archosaurian reptiles.
- Predator-prey interactions in marine communities.
- Systematics and phylogeny of trilobites, early arthropods and ecdysozoans.
- Recent and fossil bivalves with an eye to reconstructing their evolutionary history.
- The mechanisms and palaeobiological implications of exceptional fossil preservation.
- The development of combined phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic techniques.
- Convergence and contingency in biological evolution.
- Studying the evolutionary origins of key avian features such as feathers, flight, and endothermy
- Establishing accurate evolutionary timescales across the vertebrate tree of life
- Inferring phylogenetic interrelationships using novel molecular, morphological, and fossil data
- Improving biogeographic inferences using fossils, and studying the link between climate change and biogeographic range
- Investigating macroevolutionary patterns across mass extinction events
- Developing hard and soft tissue anatomical atlases for key vertebrate taxa using new visualization techniques
- THe evolution and palaeobiology of archosaurian reptiles
- The early evoulution and diversification of birds
We welcome applications from students with backgrounds in geology, zoology, biology and, when appropriate, physics or biomathematics.
Office phone | Email address | |
---|---|---|
Professor Nicholas J. Butterfield | +44 (0) 1223 333379 | njb1005@cam.ac.uk |
Professor Simon Conway Morris | +44 (0) 1223 333414 | sc113@esc.cam.ac.uk |
Dr Daniel J. Field | +44 (0) 1223 768329 | djf70@cam.ac.uk |
Luke Grinham | +44 (0) 1223 333438 | lg515@cam.ac.uk |
Professor Elizabeth Harper | +44 (0) 1223 333428 | emh21@cam.ac.uk |
Dr Charlotte Guenevere Kenchington | +44 (0)1223 333416 | cgk27@cam.ac.uk |
Pei-Chen Kuo | pck30@cam.ac.uk | |
Dr Alex Liu | +44 (0) 1223 768326 | agscl2@cam.ac.uk |
Dennis Mayk | dm807@cam.ac.uk | |
Dr David Norman | +44 (0) 1223 333426 | dn102@cam.ac.uk |
Armin Schmitt | as3008@cam.ac.uk | |
Elizabeth Steell | +44 (0) 1223 333424 | ems207@cam.ac.uk |
Ben Tindal | +44 (0)1223 333417 | bt364@cam.ac.uk |
Dr Junya Watanabe | +44 (0)1223 333493 | jw2098@cam.ac.uk |