Dr Joseph N. Keating

EvoPalaeo

About

ABOUT

I'm a Lecturer in Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. I am a palaeobiologist and I research how vertebrates first evolved and how anatomical traits evolve more generally.

I lead the University of Bristol Bioinformatics MSc Programme. I supervise MSc student research projects and teach phylogenetic comparative methods and programming for biologists. I'm the Education Officer for the Palaeontological Association and I'm the EDI lead and Steering Committee member for Open Palaeontology.

Early Vertebrate Evolution

How did vertebrates evolve? When did vertebrate traits such as paired fins and jaws arise? How do the earliest fossil vertebrates compare with living jawless and jawed vertebrates? To answer these questions, I study fossil armoured jawless fishes that lived 350 - 500 million years ago.

Phylogenetics

How are different animal groups related to each other? When did these groups diverge from each another? How can we estimate accurate relationships? I use anatomical trait data and DNA to estimate evolutionary trees. I evaluate different methods for estimating trees using sophisticated computer simulations.

Vertebrate Skeletal Histology

What were the earliest vertebrate skeletons made of? How did they grow? How did vertebrate skeletal cell and tissue types evolve? I use CT scanning and electron microscopy to study ancient and modern vertebrate skeletons. I characterise vertebrate skeletal diversity and reconstruct the evolutionary history of skeletal traits.

Phylogenetic Comparative Methods

How do anatomical traits evolve? What is the best model of trait evolution? How do evolutionary rates, diversification and extinction change through time? I develop computational methods using R programming to address these questions.