California sheephead swims in kelp forest in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, image by Robert Schwemmer/NOAA.
We are studying the key transitions in the evolution of life on Earth and predicting the impact of environmental change in the future.
We are experiencing a period of unprecedented global environmental change.
From the origins of the solar system to the evolution of new species, our work and collections are helping us understand the response of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems to this change.
News
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Our Broken PlanetThese photos will make you think twice about plastic
British photographer Mandy Barker assembles collections of plastic pulled from water around the world.
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AnthropoceneDoes climate change make wildfires worse?
Climate change is contributing to an increase in wildfires worldwide.
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Our Broken PlanetHorseshoe crab blood: the miracle vaccine ingredient that's saved millions of lives
Nature plays a huge part in the medicines we rely on every day.
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Science newsTiny sea angels survived Earth's last period of climate change
Researchers hope they will also be resilient in the face of man-made climate change and the threats it will bring.
30 October 2020
Our projects
Extraterrestrial H20 hunters
Our planetary geologists are exploring new analytical techniques to determine the origins and history of water on planet Earth.
Size matters: responding to environmental change
Museum palaeontologists are predicting the impact of our rapidly changing climate on body size using well-preserved fossils.
PREDICTS: big data on biodiversity
PREDICTS uses data on local biodiversity around the world to model how human activities affect biological communities.
UK seaweed biodiversity and conservation
The Museum's algal herbarium is particularly rich in marine algal collections from the UK. With over 60,000 specimens dating back to the 17th century, this phenomenal resource has enormous potential for informing algal conservation efforts.
Asteroids
We are studying chondrite meteorites in our collection to learn about conditions in the early solar system and the processes that formed the planets.
Unlocking the vault: UK plant collections
We are extracting flowering time data from our collection of 610,000 British and Irish plant specimens to study the phenology of selected orchid species.
The role of behaviour in evolution
Species behaviour has the potential to lead morphological evolution, by placing the organism under novel selection pressures.
Evolution of the snake visual system
We are asking what the biology of snake vision can tell us about snake evolution and the evolution of vertebrate visual systems.
Morphological development and evolution of bony fishes
We study the morphological development of bony fishes, and how it has changed over evolutionary time.
All discovery, origins and evolution projects
Origins
- Asteroids
- Atomic-scale phenomena
- Carbonatites from Calatrava
- Comets
- ESA: exploration sample analogue collection and curation facility
- Europlanet
- Mafic and ultramafic rocks in southern Mexico
- Mantle evolution of southern Patagonia
- Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico
- Post-magmatic processes in carbonatitic systems
- Stromboli volcano, Italy
- The changing Sun
- The Hydro-Mars project
- The Moon
- The origins of adakites
Evolution
- African elephants
- Asian elephants
- Body size variation in Quaternary mammals
- Bryozoan endoparasite evolution
- Centipede systematics
- Chironomids as environmental indicators
- Ciliate taxonomy and diversity
- Comparative venomics research
- Conodont research
- Conulariid research
- Convergent evolution of anguilliform elongation
- Copepod colonisation and parasitism
- Cutmarks and carcass decay
- Dinosaur and plant co-evolution
- Dwarfing of fossil mammals on Mediterranean islands
- Echinoderm
- Evolution and development of vertebrate structures
- Evolution and taxonomy of Ice Age deer
- Evolution and taxonomy of Mesozoic bryozoans
- Evolution of the snake visual system
- Exploring the evolution of animals at deep-sea hot springs
- Extinction of large mammals in the Late Quaternary Ice Age
- Human adaptation to diet and disease
- Mammoth evolution as a model for species origins
- MART analysis
- Mesozoic forests of Britain
- Micropalaeontology research opportunities
- Morphological development and evolution of bony fishes
- Naked snakes of the North Eastern Region of India
- Ostracod research
- Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
- Pathways to Ancient Britain (PAB)
- Phylogenetic comparative methods
- Reading the rocks
- Research using the Museum cetacean collections
- Symbionts
- The role of behaviour in evolution
- Trilobite research
Discovery
- Brazilian mangrove forests
- Bryozoan skeletal mineralogy and ocean acidification
- Co-evolution of plants and soils: a comparative approach
- Eel conservation
- Emerging diseases
- Evolution of fern diversity
- Human impacts on biodiversity
- Plastic in the Thames
- Report your invasive crab sightings
- Research on reef corals and coral reefs
- Saline lakes during periods of climate change
- Soils
- UK seaweed biodiversity conservation
- Unlocking the vault: UK plant collections
- Bio-strategies
News
-
Our Broken Planet
These photos will make you think twice about plastic
British photographer Mandy Barker assembles collections of plastic pulled from water around the world.
-
Anthropocene
Does climate change make wildfires worse?
Climate change is contributing to an increase in wildfires worldwide.
-
Our Broken Planet
Horseshoe crab blood: the miracle vaccine ingredient that's saved millions of lives
Nature plays a huge part in the medicines we rely on every day.
-
Science news
Tiny sea angels survived Earth's last period of climate change
Researchers hope they will also be resilient in the face of man-made climate change and the threats it will bring.
30 October 2020 -
OceansDr Leanne Melbourne: inspiring young women to study ocean science
A young Leanne Melbourne never thought she would grow up to be a scientist.
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NewsWhat 5,000-year-old penguin poo can teach us about climate change
Looking at the record of bird poo preserved for thousands of years could give us clue as to what might happen as climate change gathers pace.
23 October 2020 -
Science newsMore ambitious targets needed to prevent the destruction of nature
A series of 'safety nets' are needed to prevent the next set of goals from failing.
22 October 2020 -
What on Earth?Marine iguanas: the incredible shrinking lizards of the Galápagos
Growth is usually thought of as from small to large, but marine iguanas occasionally do the opposite.
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NewsBritain goes two months without burning coal amid lockdown
It's the longest period since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
15 June 2020 -
Science newsTurtles have lived for 230 million years - but will they survive climate change?
Tracking the diversity of turtles could also give us clues as to how they might respond to increasing pressures in the future.
22 May 2020 -
AnthropoceneScience among polar bears: a day in the life of an Arctic researcher
The Arctic is one of the most fragile and precious places on Earth.
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Science newsOcean ecosystems are more sensitive to climate change
Climate change is having a bigger impact on animals and plants in the ocean than those on land.
4 May 2020
