Research in Biogeography

Among my interests is the evolution of zoogeography in the oceans, particularly in plankton but also in corals. I have been working for several years on the puzzle of how foraminifera repeatedly re-invade the Atlantic from the Indo-Pacific during interglacials after driven extinct in the Atlantic during glacials. And it is not just foraminifera that show these extinctions, but also large billfish like Black marlin to some kinds of pelagic snails. These serial local extinctions and re-invasions suggest that the oceanography of the Atlantic and the Pacific oscillate out of phase with each other. We think that at least part of the explanation is the evolution of the thermocline in the Atlantic.

The video link is obviously not me but highlights the remarkable similarities between different places! Also, my vehicle of choice is more likely to be a ship than a car, but I like the humor. My work focuses on what is different about the Atlantic and Pacific that control the composition of oceanic biodiversity.