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Research group

Ecology and Evolution

Reddish butterfly on yellow flower surrounded by green.

Our research focuses on adaptations to changing environments, including the responses of organisms to stress factors brought about by environmental change at physiological, population and community levels.

Part of Biological sciences

About

We are addressing current and future issues of global significance such as:

  • adaptations to changing environments 
  • sustainable use of natural resources including energy 
  • food and water security
  • biodiversity conservation 

 
Our research works across a variety of scales: 

  • from molecules to whole organisms 
  • populations
  • communities
  • landscapes 

 
We use and combine expertise from: 

  • ecological and evolutionary processes
  • conservation science
  • genetics
  • modern analytical approaches for big data 

Research highlights

An artist's impression of two bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs fighting over a successful hunt.

Describing new dinosaur species

Culture and creativity
Environment, sustainability and clean growth
PhD student Chris Barker, Dr Neil Gostling and his team have described three species of dinosaur previously unknown to science, from bones found on the Isle of Wight.

Securing food for the future

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Health and wellbeing
Future societies and communities
Our researchers are finding ways to provide food security for the future.
Read more

People, projects and publications

People

Dr Becky Morris

Associate Professor

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Becky

Email: R.J.Morris@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 8144

ORCID

Dr Jan Janouskovec PhD

Lecturer in Ecology

Research interests

  • Protist diversity and ecology
  • Evolution of eukaryotic cells
  • Metabolism in plastids & mitochondria

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Jan

Email: J.Janouskovec@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 2380 590 258

Google Scholar
ORCID

Dr Jeff Thompson

Lecturer

Research interests

  • Evolution of animal body plans
  • Macroevolution
  • Molecular Palaeobiology

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Jeff

Email: J.R.Thompson@soton.ac.uk

ORCID

Dr Jorn Cheney

Lecturer in Natural Sciences

Research interests

  • Locomotion
  • Wing morphing
  • Tissues and tissue mechanics

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Jorn

Email: J.Cheney@soton.ac.uk

ORCID

Dr Kelvin Peh

Assoc Professor of Conservation Science

Research interests

  • Kelvin Peh’s interests range from forest ecology to urban wildlife in respect of diversity and distribution. He is interested in all areas of wildlife-human conflicts and wildlife ecology in human-dominated landscapes, and in the application of his research results to the conservation/management of biological resources.
  • Tropical Forest Ecology – Kelvin’s work on monodominance in tropical tree-dominated systems - has helped rekindle scientific interest in this fascinating, yet relatively unexplored phenomenon in tropical forests. He is the principal editor of the “Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology Second Edition”, published by Routledge under its “Earthscan” imprint on 7 October 2024 (available at www.routledge.com/9781032348384).
  • Ecosystem Services – Kelvin is best known for his leading role in the development of TESSA (Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment). TESSA v3.0, published on 31 Oct 2022, is now available at https://www.birdlife.org/tessa-tools/. For the impacts of TESSA, see: https://bit.ly/4ccpken. He continues working on this ecosystem service assessment project to develop and test novel tools for rapidly assessing the net impact of site-based conservation on the provision of ecosystem services. This project runs in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife International, Tropical Biology Association, Anglia Ruskin University and UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Currently, he is leading the ecosystem service task team of the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyway Initiative.

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Kelvin

Email: K.Peh@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 4367

ORCID

Dr Luis Guerra

Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Evolution of the nervous system
  • Pharmacology
  • GPCRs Non-bilaterian metazoansReceptor deorphanisations 

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Luis

Email: L.A.Yanez-Guerra@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 7521167566

ORCID

Professor Mark Chapman

Professor

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Mark

Email: M.Chapman@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 4396

ORCID

Dr Neil J. Gostling BSc PhD FLS

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Palaeobiology
  • Molecular Biology

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Neil J.

Email: N.J.Gostling@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 8141

Google Scholar
ORCID
LinkedIn
Twitter

Professor Patrick Doncaster

Professor of Ecology

Research interests

  • Population ecology 
  • Conservation management of forest and freshwater lake ecosystems
  • Conservation technology and tools for data analysis
Connect with Patrick

Email: cpd@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 4352

ORCID

Dr Robert Holland

Lecturer in Natural Sciences

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Robert

Email: R.A.Holland@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 4387

ORCID
I am interested in the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes, specifically in the interaction between insects and their parasites or pathogens.
Dr Lex Kraaijeveld
Principal Teaching Fellow