I am a paleobiologist who explores macroecology and evolution at a range of spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales. I build statistical models to evaluate the interactions among species and environmental variables with the aim of addressing how ecosystem diversity and structure arose and is maintained. The main study taxa are marine invertebrates and plankton; within that broad remit my research is driven by questions rather than any specialized taxonomic interest.
In fall 2022 I began an appointment in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, though the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Previously, I worked at Oxford Earth Sciences, where I completed my doctoral thesis in January 2022 and continued as a NERC-funded postdoc with Profs Erin Saupe and Roger Benson. You can read more about my academic history, research philosophy, and confession of "the most bodged piece of equipment I have used" in this interview with PhDetails. For the most up-to-date version of my CV, head over to my GitHub page: github.com/GawainAntell/CV.
I will be starting as an Assistant Professor of Physical Geography in summer 2024, at UCLA Geography. I anticipate recruiting PhD students in fall 2024 to begin 2025. Please contact me directly about interest in possible opportunities.
When referring to myself in third person, I do so without personal pronouns.
Research interests
- Macroecology
- Species distributions
- Invertebrate paleontology
- Spatial and nonparametric statistics
Education
University of Oxford, UK
St John’s College
PhD/DPhil January 2022
Earth Sciences and Zoology
Yale University, US
Pierson College
B.S. May 2016, magna cum laude
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and
Geology & Geophysics