About
Alison is an 1851 Research Fellow in palaeoceanography and palaeoclimatology. Her research interests are broadly related to the marine ecosystem engineers. She uses the fossil record to reconstruct the evolution of marine ecosystem engineers (such as bioturbators and reef builders), how they responded to mass extinction events, and how the rise and fall of different ecosystem engineering groups impacted ecological and evolutionary dynamics of other organisms in their communities. She is particularly interested in how studying ecosystem engineers in the fossil record can help us understand how similar animals will respond to global warming in the future, and what their responses mean for the ecosystems they are a part of.