I have rigorously examined and often overturned existing paradigms,
ranging from explanations for the origins of Australian marsupials
[1,21] to broad evolutionary patterns [3,5,8] and the extinction
of Ice Age [4] and Holocene [7] faunas. These contributions have
been underpinned by quantitative analysis, the use of innovative
methods [3,5] or development of new ones [6] (and see below), and
a demonstrated conviction in the importance of multidisciplinary
approaches. My efforts have been driven by a willingness to question
established concepts where I have found contradictory evidence.
More specifically and often through collaborative and widely cross-disciplinary
teamwork I have:
1. Analysed many new fossil species, phylogenetic studies of which
have generated paradigm shifts in our understanding of the evolution
of key marsupial clades [1,32]
2. Questioned the previous consensus view that only one Antarctic
group colonised Australia [21]
3. Provided quantitative analyses of biology in extinct ‘keystone’
taxa [5,19]
4. Demonstrated unexpected evolutionary trends, such as the long
decline of the once diverse Tasmanian tiger family (Thylacinidae)
[15] and the surprisingly recent appearance of the family once treated
as ancestral to all Australian marsupials (Dasyuridae) [17]
5. Established that Australia’s mammalian carnivores were far
more diverse than previously thought [2,8]
6. Conducted empirical analyses suggesting that, contra the prevailing
orthodoxy, landmass area and isolation, not productivity, have been
the primary constraints on mammalian carnivore diversity on Australia
and other landmasses [3,5,6]
7. Questioned the supporting assumptions of overkill (blitzkrieg)
as the driving mechanism of late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions
in Australia and overseas [4]
8. Contributed to hypotheses explaining middle Holocene extinctions
[8]
9. In a MS under review in Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, together
with a colleague, I have developed a new method for prioritising
extinction and conservation hotspots. Based in the emergent area
of neutral null-modelling, this method is statistically verifiable
and able to prioritise on the basis of threat [Forster, M., &
Wroe, S. (Under Review). A new method for prioritising
conservation and extinction hotspots. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London, Series B.]
[see Research Output for references
denoted above in parentheses]
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