Zoology staff directory

Current activities

(as Scientific Associate)
Research into the evolutionary, ecological and biogeographical history of scleractinian corals and the geological history of reefs and other coral biotopes.  Recent work concentrates on: (1) European and Indopacific Cenozoic origins of modern diversity patterns in relation to climate and plate tectonics, (2) a taxonomic, phylogenetic and stratigraphic case study for same based on the common staghorn coral, Acropora, (3) colonial growth and form and its photoadaptive implications for the history of algal symbiosis in corals.

Contracts, grants, awards

1995 (onward) Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London

Employment history

Higher education

Biographical details

Other posts held simultaneously with the above:

1988 & 1987 Visiting Professorship, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy
1972-1990 University of London: Lecturer in Department of Extra-Mural Studies, Birkbeck College
1971 Open University: Course Tutor, Local Tutor and Summer School Tutor

Additional information

Educational Activities

Supervisions: MSc/MRes: O ongoing, 3 completed. PhDs: 1 ongoing, 4 completed.
Examinations / peer assessments: 4 MSc, 11 PhD, 1 DSc, 2 Habilitation; 7 external peer assessments for promotions, job reviews, awards, elections to honours
Post-doctoral fellows and other associates: 9

Wide range of subject teaching and examining experience at undergraduate level, adult education, etc. including field work.  Courses, guest lectures and seminars to university departments, scientific societies, and other institutions in UK, Australia, Bermuda, Guam, Italy, Netherlands and USA. Recent selection below:
 
2000: Undergraduate level: short course on coral reefs, Dept of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London
1993-1998: Undergraduate level: half-unit undergraduate course and examining, on Palaeocology, Department of Geology, Birkbeck College, University of London.
1990-1995: Undergraduate level: lectures on corals and on biogeography, Department of Geology, Imperial College, University of London.

Fieldwork experience
Geological, ecological and coral collecting field work mostly on living and fossil reefs and coral biotopes, but including also regional geology and mapping work.  Main field-based projects have been in France (Burgundy, Provence), Egypt (Gulf of Suez), Great Britain (N.Wales and borders, southern Scotland), Guam, Italy (Puglia, Veneto), Maldives (Addu), Marshall Islands (Enewetak), Norway (Finnmark), Papua New Guinea (south-east), Seychelles (Mahé, Amirantes), Spain (Cataluña), Sudan (Red Sea coast), UAE and Oman Mountains.  Additional area visited, some repeated, to: Austria (eastern), Australia (Queensland, Victoria), Bermuda, Germany (Bavaria), Great Britain (N.England, SW England), Hong Kong, Indonesia (Bali), Italy (northern, central and southeastern regions), Switzerland, USA (Florida, Iowa, New York).

Media and public understanding of science
(Selection)
2003: Scientific consultant for 3 natural history television programmes for BBC TV Bristol.
1998-1999: Revision of fossil section of popular identification guide, The Philip's Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils, Philip's [publishers] and The Natural History Museum, London
1995-1998: Scientific adviser for public gallery exhibitions on Earth sciences during Earth Galleries redevelopment, mainly From the Beginning (history of Earth and history of life) with joint authorship of accompanying book From the Beginning (Edwards & Rosen, 2000) for the (then) Department of Education and Exhibitions, The Natural History Museum, London.
1974-77: Scientific adviser for public gallery exhibition: Hall of Human Biology (neurobiology and learning psychology sections), (then) Department of Public Services, The Natural History Museum, London (including two-year secondment to same)
Various radio interviews and programme participations on coral reefs, From the Beginning (above), history of Crystal Palace, etc.
National Science Weeks, Earth Lab, Darwin Live presentations, primary school visits, Fossil Road Shows - all for the NHM

Publications

Selected publications
1. Wallace, C.C. & Rosen, B.R. 2006. Diverse staghorn corals (Acropora) in high-latitude Eocene assemblages: implications for the evolution of modern diversity patterns of reef corals. Proceedings of the Royal Society (Series B Biological Sciences) 273, 975-982.
2. Edwards K.[M.] & Rosen B.[R.] 2004. From the beginning. Reprint with revisions. The Natural History Museum, London. ISBN 0-565-09142-5, 72 pp.
3. Hughes, T.P., Baird, A.H., Bellwood, D.R., Card, M., Connolly, S.R., Folke, C., Grosberg, R., Hoegh-Gouldberg, O., Jackson, J.B.C., Kleypas, J., Lough, J., Marshall, P., Nyström, M., Palumbi, S.R., Pandolfi, J., Rosen, B.R. & Roughgarden, J. 2003. Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs Science 301, 929-933.
4. Rosen, B.R., Aillud, G.S., Bosellini, F., Clack, N.J., Insalaco, E., Valldeperas, F.X., & Wilson, M.E.J. 2002. Platy coral assemblages: 210 million years of response to the limiting effects of depth, light and turbidity. In: Moosa, M. Kasim, Soemodihardjo, S., Soegiarto, A., Romimohtarto, K., Nontji, A., Soekarno & Suharsono, Eds., Proceedings of the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali, Indonesia, October 23-27 2000. Ministry of Environment, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, International Society for Reef Studies, [Bali?]. Two volumes, ISBN 979-8105-97-4, 1, 255-265.
5. Rosen, B.R. 1999. Palaeoclimatic implications of the energy hypothesis from Neogene corals of the Mediterranean region. In: Agustí, J., Rook, L. & Andrews, P.J., Eds., Hominoid evolution and climatic change in Europe. Volume 1. The Evolution of Neogene terrestrial ecosystems in Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, ISBN 0 521 64097 0, pp. 309-327.
6. Wilson, M.E.J. & Rosen, B.R. 1998. Implications of paucity of corals in the Paleogene of SE Asia: plate tectonics or Centre of Origin? In: Hall, R. & Holloway, J.D., Eds., Biogeography and Geological Evolution of SE Asia,  Backhuys, Leiden, ISBN 90-73348-97-8, pp.165-195.
7. Insalaco, E., Hallam, A. & Rosen, B.R. 1997. Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) coral reefs in Western Europe: reef types and conceptual depositional model. Sedimentology 44, 707-734.
8. Done, T.J., Ogden, J.C., Wiebe, W.J. & Rosen, B.R. (with contributions from the BIOCORE Working Group - listed at the end of the chapter). 1996. Biodiversity and ecosystem function of coral reefs. In: Mooney, H.A., Cushman, J.H., Medina, E., Sala, O.E. & Schulze, E.-D., Eds., Functional roles of biodiversity: a global perspective, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, ISBN 0-471-95601-5, pp. 393-423.
9. Rosen, B.R. 1988. Biogeographical patterns: a perceptual overview. In: Myers, A.A. & Giller, P.S., Eds., Analytical biogeography; an integrated approach to the study of animal and plant distributions. Chapman & Hall, London, ISBN 0 412 28260 7, pp. 23-55. [References incorporated into bibliography for entire volume, pp. 513-568.]
10. Rosen, B.R. 1986. Modular growth and form of corals: a matter of metamers? In: Harper, J.L., Rosen, B.R. & White, J., Eds.1986. The growth and form of modular organisms. Proceedings of a Royal Society Discussion Meeting held on 27 and 28 June 1985. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B) 313 (1159) [Also published separately by The Royal Society, London. ISBN 0 85403 281 9, 250 pp.], 115-142.