Tom Harvey

I research the evolution of life and environments through deep geological time. I have a particular interest in the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition which is when animals first rose to dominance in marine ecosystems some half a billion years ago, fundamentally changing the way our planet works. My research extends across many scales, from resolving the microscopic anatomy, functional morphology, and phylogenetic position of individual fossil organisms, to establishing large-scale patterns in ecology, evolution, environmental change and palaeoclimate. I study exceptionally preserved microfossils (SCFs, SSFs) and macrofossils (e.g. Burgess Shale and Chengjiang biotas) to obtain a higher-resolution picture of large-scale patterns and processes, counteracting biases in the conventional fossil record.