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26 27 28 29</head> 30 31 32 <body> 33 34 <div class="navbar navbar-default navbar-fixed-top" role="navigation"> 35 <div class="container-fluid"> 36 <div class="navbar-header"> 37 <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbar-collapse-1" aria-expanded="false"> 38 <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> 39 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 40 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 41 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 42 </button> 43 44 <a class="navbar-brand" href="/">Deep Time Biology Lab | Montana State University</a> 45 </div> 46 <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbar-collapse-1"> 47 <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right"> 48 <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> 49 <li><a href="/team">Team</a></li> 50 <li><a href="/research">Research</a></li> 51 <li><a href="/code">Code</a></li> 52 <li><a href="/publications">Publications</a></li> 53 <li><a href="/teaching">Teaching|Mentoring</a></li> 54 </ul> 55 </div> 56 </div> 57</div> 58<br> 59 60 61 <div class="container-fluid"> 62 <div class="row"> 63 <div id="gridid" class="col-sm-12"> 64 <h1 id="publications">Publications</h1> 65 66<div class="row"> 67 68 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 69 <div class="well"> 70 <pubtit><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee3541">Fossil evidence favors a role for vision in the modular evolution of the primate neocortex</a></pubtit> 71 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/Endocast.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 72 <p>We showed that enhanced visual processing, not expansion of the frontal lobe, drove the major increases in neocortical size in primates.</p> 73 <p><em>Kay, R. F., C. L. Organ, et al. Science (2026)</em></p> 74 <p><strong><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee3541"></a></strong></p> 75 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 76 </div> 77 </div> 78 79 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 80 <div class="well"> 81 <pubtit><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.70068">Body size evolution through shifting climatic conditions in Mesozoic dinosaurs</a></pubtit> 82 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/BR.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 83 <p>We found no strong evidence linking dinosaur body size to paleotemperature or precipitation across major clades, highlighting local adaptation.</p> 84 <p><em>Lauren N. Wilson, Jacob D. Gardner, John P. Wilson, et al. Palaeontology (2026)</em></p> 85 <p><strong><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.70068"></a></strong></p> 86 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 87 </div> 88 </div> 89 90</div> 91 92<div class="row"> 93 94 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 95 <div class="well"> 96 <pubtit><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt5189">Arctic bird nesting traces back to the Cretaceous [Cover Article]</a></pubtit> 97 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/Artict_Nesting.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 98 <p>We discovered the oldest evidence of birds nesting at polar latitudes, revealing that Cretaceous birds were already breeding in seasonal Arctic environments long before modern birds. Way to go Lauren!</p> 99 <p><em>Lauren N. Wilson, Daniel T. Ksepka, John P. Wilson, et al. Science (2025)</em></p> 100 <p><strong><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt5189"></a></strong></p> 101 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 102 </div> 103 </div> 104 105 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 106 <div class="well"> 107 <pubtit><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61036-1">Phylogenetically informed predictions outperform predictive equations in real and simulated data</a></pubtit> 108 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/PhyloPred.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 109 <p>We show how to greatly improve biological predictions by taking evolution into account.</p> 110 <p><em>Jacob D. Gardner, Joanna Baker, Chris Venditti & Chris L. Organ. Nature Communications (2025)</em></p> 111 <p><strong><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61036-1"></a></strong></p> 112 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 113 </div> 114 </div> 115 116</div> 117 118<div class="row"> 119 120 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 121 <div class="well"> 122 <pubtit><a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-024-02101-x">Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology</a></pubtit> 123 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/samdata_diffanal.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 124 <p>In this large-scale study we showed that ecologists and evolutionary biologists analyzing the same datasets often produce widely varying results, highlighting how researcher decisions strongly influence scientific outcomes.</p> 125 <p><em>Elliot Gould, Hannah S. Fraser, Timothy H. Parker, et al. BMC Biology (2025)</em></p> 126 <p><strong><a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-024-02101-x"></a></strong></p> 127 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 128 </div> 129 </div> 130 131 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 132 <div class="well"> 133 <pubtit><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rspb.2024.0235">The evolution and ecology of gigantism in terror birds (Aves, Phorusrhacidae)</a></pubtit> 134 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/terrorbird.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 135 <p>We found that the evolution and displacement of body size drove terror bird niche partitioning and competitive exclusion controlled phorusrhacid diversity (image credit Saul Marchese).<
135/p> 136 <p><em>Thomas W. LaBarge, T. W., J. D. Gardner, and C. L. Organ. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences (2024)</em></p> 137 <p><strong><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rspb.2024.0235"></a></strong></p> 138 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 139 </div> 140 </div> 141 142</div> 143 144<div class="row"> 145 146 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 147 <div class="well"> 148 <pubtit><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46843-2">Global latitudinal gradients and the evolution of body size in dinosaurs and mammals</a></pubtit> 149 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/BR.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 150 <p>We tested for Bergmannâs rule in Mesozoic dinosaurs and mammaliaforms that radiated within relatively temperate global climate regimes. We found that the rule did not operate in the Mesozoic, nor in modern mammals.</p> 151 <p><em>Wilson, L., J. D. Gardner, J. P. Wilson, A. Farnsworth, Z. Perry, P. S. Druckenmiller, G. M. Erickson, and C. L. Organ. Nature Communications (2024)</em></p> 152 <p><strong><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46843-2"></a></strong></p> 153 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 154 </div> 155 </div> 156 157 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 158 <div class="well"> 159 <pubtit><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1713">The coevolution of rostral keratin and tooth distribution in dinosaurs</a></pubtit> 160 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/dinobeaks.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 161 <p>We use rostral jawbone surface texture as a proxy for rostral keratin covering and phylogenetic comparative models to test for the influence of rostral keratin on toothrow distribution in Mesozoic dinosaurs.</p> 162 <p><em>Aguilar-Pedrayes, I., J. D. Gardner, and C. L. Organ. Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2024)</em></p> 163 <p><strong><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1713"></a></strong></p> 164 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 165 </div> 166 </div> 167 168</div> 169 170<div class="row"> 171 172 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 173 <div class="well"> 174 <pubtit><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fviro.2023.1066147/full?field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Virology&id=1066147">Detecting punctuated evolution in SARS-CoV-2 over the first year of the pandemic</a></pubtit> 175 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/CovidPunc.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 176 <p>We show that ~13% of SARS-CoV-2 genomic divergence up to May 2020 is attributable to lineage branching events (punctuated evolution). The net number of branching events along lineages predicts ~5% of the deviation from the strict molecular clock. We did not detect punctuated evolution in SARS-CoV-1.</p> 177 <p><em>Surya, K., J. D. Gardner, and C. L. Organ. Frontiers in Virology (2023)</em></p> 178 <p><strong><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fviro.2023.1066147/full?field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Virology&id=1066147"></a></strong></p> 179 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 180 </div> 181 </div> 182 183 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 184 <div class="well"> 185 <pubtit><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syab017">Evolutionary sample size and consilience in phylogenetic comparative analysis</a></pubtit> 186 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/EvoSampleSize.jpg" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 187 <p>We show that PCM parameter estimation is poor in common biological scenarios due to small effective (evolutionary) sample sizes of independent character change. We suggest that researchers 1) Create study designs that evaluate a priori hypotheses and maximize evolutionary sample sizes; 2) assess the suitability of evolutionary models and introduce the phylogenetic imbalance ratio; and 3) evaluate evolutionary hypotheses with a consilience of evidence from disparate fields.</p> 188 <p><em>Gardner, J. and C. L. Organ. Systematic Biology (2021)</em></p> 189 <p><strong><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio"></a></strong></p> 190 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 191 </div> 192 </div> 193 194</div> 195 196<div class="row"> 197 198 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 199 <div class="well"> 200 <pubtit><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2561-9">The tuatara genome reveals ancient features of amniote evolution</a></pubtit> 201 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/Tuatara.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 202 <p>The tuatara (<em>Sphenodon punctatus</em>) â the only living member of the reptilian order Rhynchocephalia (Sphenodontia), once widespread across Gondwana â is an iconic species that is endemic to New Zealand. A key link to the now-extinct stem reptiles (from which dinosaurs, modern reptiles, birds and mammals evolved), the tuatara provides key insights into the ancestral amniotesâ¦</p> 203 <p><em>Gemmell, N.J., Rutherford, K., Prost, S. et al. Nature (2020)</em></p> 204 <p><strong><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2561-9"></a></strong></p> 205 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 206 </div> 207 </div> 208 209 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 210 <div class="well"> 211 <pubtit><a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0146">
211The Relationship Between Genome Size and Metabolic Rate in Extant Vertebrates</a></pubtit> 212 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/genome_metab.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 213 <p>Genome size has long been hypothesized to affect the metabolic rate in various groups of animals. The mechanism behind this proposed association is the nucleotypic effect, in which large nucleus and cell sizes influence cellular metabolism through surface area-to-volume ratiosâ¦</p> 214 <p><em>Gardner, J., M. Laurin, and C. L. Organ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. (2020)</em></p> 215 <p><strong><a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0146"></a></strong></p> 216 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 217 </div> 218 </div> 219 220</div> 221 222<div class="row"> 223 224 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 225 <div class="well"> 226 <pubtit><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2019.10.008">Early Tetrapodomorph biogeography: controlling for fossil record bias in macroevolutionary analyses</a></pubtit> 227 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/fossil_record_bias.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 228 <p>Here, we develop a sampling bias proxy that incorporates geographic information and test it with a case study on early tetrapodomorph biogeography. We use recently-developed Bayesian phylogeographic models and a new supertree of early tetrapodomorphs to estimate dispersal rates and ancestral habitat locationsâ¦</p> 229 <p><em>Gardner, J., K. Surya, and C. L. Organ; Comptes Rendus Palevol.(2019)</em></p> 230 <p><strong><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2019.10.008"></a></strong></p> 231 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 232 </div> 233 </div> 234 235 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 236 <div class="well"> 237 <pubtit><a href="https://doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0486-6">Biogeography across the ages</a></pubtit> 238 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/earth.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 239 <p>Allowing biogeographical data to evolve at varying rates on a globe, not a plane, reveals new insights into the origin and dispersal of dinosaurs. The method could also be applied to manifold organisms, from humans to influenza virusesâ¦.</p> 240 <p><em>Organ, C. L.; Nature Ecology & Evolution (2018)</em></p> 241 <p><strong><a href="https://doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0486-6"></a></strong></p> 242 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 243 </div> 244 </div> 245 246</div> 247 248<div class="row"> 249 250 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 251 <div class="well"> 252 <pubtit><a href="https://doi:10.1038/ncomms14445">Live birth in an archosauromorph reptile</a></pubtit> 253 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/pregrep.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 254 <p>Despite evolving many times independently in vertebrates, live birth is unknown in the major clade Archosauromorpha (birds, crocodilians, and dinosaurs). Here we report the discovery of a pregnant long-necked archosauromorph marine reptile (<em>Dinocephalosaurus</em>) from the Middle Triassic (B245 million years ago) of southwest Chinaâ¦</p> 255 <p><em>Jun Liu, J., C. L. Organ, M. J. Benton, M. C. Brandley, and J. C. Aitchison; Nature Communications (2017)</em></p> 256 <p><strong><a href="https://doi:10.1038/ncomms14445"></a></strong></p> 257 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 258 </div> 259 </div> 260 261 <div class="col-sm-6 clearfix"> 262 <div class="well"> 263 <pubtit><a href="https://doi:10.1038/ncomms12931">Bony cranial ornamentation linked to rapid evolution of gigantic theropod dinosaurs</a></pubtit> 264 <p><img src="/images/pubpic/trex_155.small.png" class="img-responsive" width="33%" style="float: left" /></p> 265 <p>Exaggerated cranial structures such as crests and horns, hereafter referred to collectively as ornaments, are pervasive across animal species. Here, we show that body size evolved directionally toward phyletic giantism an order of magnitude faster in theropod species possessing ornaments compared with unadorned lineagesâ¦</p> 266 <p><em>Gates, T. D., C. L. Organ, and L. Zanno; Nature Communications (2016)</em></p> 267 <p><strong><a href="https://doi:10.1038/ncomms12931"></a></strong></p> 268 <p class="text-danger"><strong> </strong></p> 269 </div> 270 </div> 271 272</div> 273 274<h2 id="full-list">Full List</h2> 275<p>For a full list, please go to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=YPAWxGIAAAAJ">Google Scholar</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/chris.organ.1/bibliography/public/">Pubmed</a></p> 276 277 278</div> 279 280 </div> 281 </div> 282 283 <div id="footer" class="panel"> 284 <div class="panel-footer"> 285 <div class="container-fluid"> 286 <div class="row"> 287 <p><br></p> 288 <div class="col-sm-4"> 289 <p>© 2026 Deep Time Biology Lab. This site is made with <a href="https://jekyllrb.com">Jekyll</a> and is directly crafted after the <a href="https://www.allanlab.org/">Allen Lab at the University of Leiden</a>
289, who kindly shares the code and a <a href="https://www.allanlab.org/aboutwebsite.html">brief setup tutorial.</a></p> 290 291 </div> 292 <!-- <div class="col-sm-4"> 293 Funding & Support:<br /> 294 - <a href='https://www.franklineducationalfoundation.org/'>Franklin Education Foundation</a> 295 </div> --> 296 <div class="col-sm-4"> 297 Contact:<br> 298 <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/vMvbe7FEzqBbJjc47"> 299 <img src="/images/map.png" width="20%" align=right></a> 300 Traphagen Hall<br> 301 Department of Earth Sciences<br> 302 Montana State University<br> 303 Bozeman, Montana, 59717, USA<br> 304 <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> 305 306 </div> 307 </div> 308 </div> 309 </div> 310</div> 311
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