Dr Suzanne Williams
Principal Researcher
ORCID: 0000-0003-2995-5823
Department: Life Sciences
Specialisms: evolution of invertebrate colour, gastropod vision, biogeography, speciation, marine molluscs
Summary
Evolution of colour and vision in marine invertebrates
The evolutionary history of colour and vision has been closely intertwined over the last 500 million years, leading to a dazzling diversity of colours and visual systems in the phylum Mollusca. Surprisingly given the range of colours and patterns in this group, nearly all molluscs are thought to be colour blind and most have poor visual acuity and yet they showcase the greatest diversity of eye types in the animal kingdom. My vision studies are focussed on two key innovations: the loss of eyes in deep-sea gastropods and evolution of camera-type eyes in strombid gastropods. My colour studies have focussed mainly on the identification of shell pigments and the molecular pathways responsible for their production in molluscs and echinoderms. I am particularly interested in heritable colour polymorphisms, where alternate colour morphs occur within a single species and are genetically controlled . Recently, I have begun to look at the role of structural colour in molluscs.
The evolutionary history of colour and vision has been closely intertwined over the last 500 million years, leading to a dazzling diversity of colours and visual systems in the phylum Mollusca. Surprisingly given the range of colours and patterns in this group, nearly all molluscs are thought to be colour blind and most have poor visual acuity and yet they showcase the greatest diversity of eye types in the animal kingdom. My vision studies are focussed on two key innovations: the loss of eyes in deep-sea gastropods and evolution of camera-type eyes in strombid gastropods. My colour studies have focussed mainly on the identification of shell pigments and the molecular pathways responsible for their production in molluscs and echinoderms. I am particularly interested in heritable colour polymorphisms, where alternate colour morphs occur within a single species and are genetically controlled . Recently, I have begun to look at the role of structural colour in molluscs.
Academic
- Head of Invertebrate Division, Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 2017 - 2021
- Principal Researcher, Natural History Museum, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 2015 - ongoing
- Researcher, Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 2003 - 2015
- Postdoctoral fellow, Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology, United Kingdom, 2001 - 2003
- Postdoctoral fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, 1997 - 2000
- PhD student, Australian Institute of Marine Science & James Cook University, Australia, 1992 - 1997
- Experimental Scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia, 1989 - 1992
Highlighted publications
- White OW, Hall A, Price BW, Williams ST, Clark MD (2025) A Snakemake Toolkit for the Batch Assembly, Annotation and Phylogenetic Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes and Ribosomal Genes From Genome Skims of Museum Collections. Molecular Ecology Resources 25, doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.14036
- Williams ST, Heyworth SM, Kano Y, Roberts NW, Carter HF, Cheney KL (2025) The blue advantage: a novel blue carotenoprotein pigment in the tropical seastar Linckia laevigata is an antioxidant defence against extreme environmental stress. Marine Biology 172, doi: 10.1007/s00227-025-04595-7
- Zarzyczny KM, Rius M, Williams ST, Fenberg PB (2024) The ecological and evolutionary consequences of tropicalisation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 39, 267 - 279. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.006
- Williams ST (2017) Molluscan shell colour. Biological Reviews 92, 1039 - 1058. doi: 10.1111/brv.12268
- Irwin AR, Roberts NW, Strong EE, Kano Y, Speiser DI, Harper EM, Williams ST Evolution of Large Eyes in Stromboidea (Gastropoda): Impact of Photic Environment and Life History Traits. Esposito L (Eds). Systematic Biology doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syae063
Highlighted publications
- White OW, Hall A, Price BW, Williams ST, Clark MD (2025) A Snakemake Toolkit for the Batch Assembly, Annotation and Phylogenetic Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes and Ribosomal Genes From Genome Skims of Museum Collections. Molecular Ecology Resources 25, doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.14036
- Williams ST, Heyworth SM, Kano Y, Roberts NW, Carter HF, Cheney KL (2025) The blue advantage: a novel blue carotenoprotein pigment in the tropical seastar Linckia laevigata is an antioxidant defence against extreme environmental stress. Marine Biology 172, doi: 10.1007/s00227-025-04595-7
- Zarzyczny KM, Rius M, Williams ST, Fenberg PB (2024) The ecological and evolutionary consequences of tropicalisation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 39, 267 - 279. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.006
- Williams ST (2017) Molluscan shell colour. Biological Reviews 92, 1039 - 1058. doi: 10.1111/brv.12268
- Irwin AR, Roberts NW, Strong EE, Kano Y, Speiser DI, Harper EM, Williams ST Evolution of Large Eyes in Stromboidea (Gastropoda): Impact of Photic Environment and Life History Traits. Esposito L (Eds). Systematic Biology doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syae063