Research

The focus of my PhD research is to disentangle the evolutionary drivers of mammalian colouration on a macroevolutionary scale. My work involves the use of phylogenetic comparative methods on a comprehensive dataset of all terrestrial mammal species. I investigate long-held predictions about the functions of mammalian colouration, to establish whether they hold true when applied within a Bayesian phylogenetic context.

Publications

Howell, N., Sheard, C., Koneru, M., Brockelsby, K., Ono, K., Caro, T. (2021) Aposematism in mammals. Evolution. (https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14320)

Biography

Having graduated from Moulton College with a BSc in Applied Zoology in the summer of 2019, I then spent a year in the University of Bristol's Earth Sciences department, completing an MSc in Palaeobiology. My MSc thesis, supervised by Dr. Catherine Sheard and fellow CamoLab member Prof. Tim Caro, focused on aposematism as a potential driver of striking black-and-white conspicuous colouration in mammals. I thoroughly enjoyed my MSc research, and I am ecstatic to continue working with Prof. Tim Caro to investigate the evolution of mammal colouration.

Publications