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Department of Earth Sciences

 

Deinonychus

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.

Recent publications in this area.


People specializing in this area

Academic Staff
Name Office phone Email address
Professor Nicholas J. Butterfield +44 (0) 1223 333379 njb1005@cam.ac.uk
Professor Daniel J. Field +44 (0) 1223 768329 djf70@cam.ac.uk
Professor Elizabeth Harper +44 (0) 1223 333428 emh21@cam.ac.uk
Dr Alex Liu +44 (0) 1223 768326 agscl2@cam.ac.uk
Research Staff
Name Office phone Email address
Dr Claudio Garbelli cg772@cam.ac.uk
Dr William McMahon wjm39@cam.ac.uk
Dr Junya Watanabe
Research Students
Name Office phone Email address
James Craig jac293@cam.ac.uk
Annabel Hunt akh56@cam.ac.uk
Bethany F. King bfk24@cam.ac.uk
Pei-Chen Kuo pck30@cam.ac.uk
Armin Schmitt as3008@cam.ac.uk
Elizabeth Steell +44 (0) 1223 333424 ems207@cam.ac.uk
Katrina van Grouw kv340@cam.ac.uk
Professional Services Staff
Name Office phone Email address
Dr Charlotte Guenevere Kenchington +44 (0)1223 333416 cgk27@cam.ac.uk
Emeritus and College Teaching Staff
Name Office phone Email address
Professor Simon Conway Morris +44 (0) 1223 333414 sc113@esc.cam.ac.uk
Professor David Norman +44 (0) 1223 333426 dn102@cam.ac.uk
All members of the Department
Name 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
James Craig jac293@cam.ac.uk
Professor Daniel J. Field +44 (0) 1223 768329 djf70@cam.ac.uk
Dr Claudio Garbelli cg772@cam.ac.uk
Dr Charlotte Guenevere Kenchington +44 (0)1223 333416 cgk27@cam.ac.uk
Bethany F. King bfk24@cam.ac.uk
Pei-Chen Kuo pck30@cam.ac.uk
Dr William McMahon wjm39@cam.ac.uk
Professor 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
Katrina van Grouw kv340@cam.ac.uk
Dr Junya Watanabe