Interdisciplinary Fellow
- About
-
- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Biography
I am an evolutionary biologist who studies how innovations in behaviour shape trait distributions across broad swaths of space and time, particularly in birds and mammals. I frequently collaborate with linguists and anthropologists to translate methods developed in biology and palaeobiology to the study of human language/cultural evolution, with a particular interest in the relationship between people and their natural environment.
My Google Scholar page can be found here and more information about my research can be found here.
Qualifications
- DPhil Zoology2016 - University of Oxford
- BS Mathematics, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology2012 - Yale University
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
-
* Member, SBS EDI Committee
- External Memberships
-
- Senior Editor, Global Ecology and Biogeography
- Chair, BES Macro SIG
- Diversity Committee Member, American Society of Naturalists
- Research
-
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Biological and Environmental Sciences
Accepting PhDs - Publications
-
Page 1 of 4 Results 1 to 10 of 40
A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification
Current Biology, vol. 35, no. 16, pp. 3883-3895Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGlobal incidence of female birdsong is predicted by territoriality and biparental care in songbirds
Nature Communications, vol. 16, 6157Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSome birds are left behind in a race to beat the heat
Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 1092-1093Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02727-2
Viewing conditions predict evolutionary diversity in avian plumage colour
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 292, no. 2044, 20241728Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1728
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/d20933f3-607e-44f0-81a8-94af1a9daa9d/download
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Longer wing bones in warmer climates suggest a role of thermoregulation in bird wing evolution
Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 34, no. 4, e70033Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70033
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/a2765d24-23cf-481e-a005-af484a033765/download
Anthropogenic nest material use in a global sample of birds
Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 93, no. 6, pp. 691-704Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14078
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/9b7bca56-9952-4ece-8d21-6b4750f4ce80/download
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The Evolution of Rodent Tail Morphology
American Naturalist, vol. 203, no. 6, pp. 629-643Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/729751
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Primate coloration and colour vision: a comparative approach
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 141, no. 3, pp. 435-455Contributions to Journals: ArticlesLimited ecological opportunity influences the tempo of morphological evolution in birds
Current Biology, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 661-669.e4Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.055
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/c995ec41-3693-4f8f-9f83-520f11e1f085/download
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Nest traits for the world's birds
Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 206-214Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13783
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstreams/5b47a040-e5a6-4e76-b8cf-14c259cb4688/download