Jonathan Payne
Academic Appointments
- Associate Professor, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences - Geological and Environmental Sciences
- Member, Bio-X
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 721-6723
Professional Overview
Honors and Awards
- CAREER Award, NSF (2012)
- Terman Fellowship, Stanford University (2007-2009)
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
My goal in research is to understand the interaction between environmental change and biological evolution using fossils and the sedimentary rock record. How does environmental change influence evolutionary and ecological processes? And conversely, how do evolutionary and ecological changes affect the physical environment? I am focused primarily on finding answers to these questions on two timescales: 1) the timescale of catastrophic extinction events and their immediate aftermaths (up to a few million years); and 2) the timescale of geological periods and eras (tens to hundreds of millions of years). My research combines macro-scale, field-based work on the stratigraphy and paleontology of carbonate platforms with micro-scale, laboratory-based work on the petrography and geochemistry of individual limestone samples and mineral phases. In addition to field and laboratory study, I also compile literature-based data and use theoretical models to help constrain interpretation of field-based data and to determine the extent to which local biotic patterns reflect global processes.
Publications
- Late paleozoic fusulinoidean gigantism driven by atmospheric hyperoxia. Evolution. 2012; (9): 2929-39
- Long-term differences in extinction risk among the seven forms of rarity. Proc Biol Sci. 2012; (1749): 4969-76
- Two-phase increase in the maximum size of life over 3.5 billion years reflects biological innovation and environmental opportunity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009; (1): 24-7
- The effect of geographic range on extinction risk during background and mass extinction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; (25): 10506-11
- A shift in the long-term mode of foraminiferan size evolution caused by the end-Permian mass extinction. Evolution. 2013; (3): 816-27
- The evolutionary consequences of oxygenic photosynthesis: a body size perspective. Photosynth Res. 2011; (1): 37-57
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