Research Interests

We use primarily phylogenetic approaches to study macroevolution and conservation in a wide range of taxa.  Current areas of particular interest include:

• Phylogenetic tree shape
• Evolutionary trends
• Character evolution
• Unifying macroecology and macroevolution
• Extinction biology
• Mammalian phylogeny

Selected recent publications

* Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P., Cardillo, M., Jones, K. E., MacPhee, R. D. E., Beck, R. M. D., Grenyer, R., Price, S. A., Vos, R. A., Gittleman, J. L. & Purvis, A. 2007 The delayed rise of present-day mammals. Nature, in press.

* Adamowicz, S. J. & Purvis, A. 2006 From more to fewer? Testing an allegedly pervasive trend in the evolution of morphological structure. Evolution 60, 1402-1407.

* Beck, R. M. D., Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P., Cardillo, M., Liu, F.-G. R. & Purvis, A. 2006 A higher-level MRP supertree of placental mammals. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6, 93.

* Cardillo, M., Mace, G. M., Gittleman, J. L. & Purvis, A. 2006 Latent risk and the future battlegrounds of mammal conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103, 4157-4161.

* Cardillo, M., Mace, G. M., Jones, K. E., Bielby, J., Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P., Sechrest, W., Orme, C. D. L. & Purvis, A. 2005 Multiple causes of high extinction risk in large mammal species. Science 309, 1239-1241.

* Isaac, N. J. B., Jones, K. E., Gittleman, J. L. & Purvis, A. 2005 Correlates of species richness in mammals: Body size, life-history and ecology. American Naturalist 165, 600-607.

* Purvis, A., Brooks, T. M. & Gittleman, J. L. (ed.) 2005 Phylogeny and Conservation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

* Purvis, A. 2004 How do characters evolve? Nature 432, doi:10.1038/nature03092.