Research programmes

The Natural History Museum's research programmes

This page is under development.

Our scientific research is managed in programmes, within six main themes. Each programme focuses on a clearly defined set of problems. Our current research programmes include:

Systematics and Evolution Theme

Systematics and evolution

Beetle diversity in Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania
Evolutionary biology of the hawk moths
Ancient nucleic acids from amber-preserved insects
Origin and early evolution of tetrapods

Faunas and Floras Theme

Keys, guides and inventories
Floras of the world
Flora Mesoamericana
Northwest European pollen flora
Vertebrate faunas of the world
Invertebrate faunas of the world
Chalcidoidea - unknown mini-wasps: a study in Costa Rica
Copepod diversity
Treatise on invertebrate palaeontology
Historical collections

Biomedical Sciences Theme

Schistosomes and snails
Molecular biology of schistosomes and their hosts
Sandflies and leishmania
Veterinary entomology
How do myiasis-causing flies find their hosts?
Blackflies and onchocerciasis
Mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases
Molecular systematics of insect vectors
Helminth systematics
Venomous animals

Environmental Quality Theme

Organisms for environmental assessment
Disturbances in biological processes
Systematic studies on key organisms
Interactions in metal-enriched environments
Environmental mineralogy
Fluids in the Earth's crust
Environmental impact assessments

Earth Materials, History and Processes Theme

Carbonate geosystems
Cosmic mineralogy
Meteorites - messengers from the past
Mineral systematics
Mineralogy and origin of ore deposits
Newly discovered mineralized caves
Black smoker fossils and vent fauna
Stratigraphy and correlation

Ecological Patterns and Processes Theme

Arthropod-host interactions
Deep-lake ecosystems
Loch Ness worms
Deep-sea biology
Parasites as indicators of the movements of deep-sea fish
Ecophysiology and coastal processes
Global change and the biosphere
Miocene vertebrate fossils of Arabia
Mass extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary
Human origins
Human origins
Micro-organisms
Patterns of marine biodiversity
Diversity and dynamics of forest communities
Characterisation of vegetation zones using GIS
Termite diversity and its roles in tropical ecosystems