My taxonomic specialty is the Echinodermata (starfish, sea urchins, and kin), especially the Crinoidea (sea lilies and feather stars), which have a spectacular fossil record spanning nearly a half-billion years. Because echinoderm skeletons are highly complex and commonly preserve ecologic features as fossils (such as feeding structures), they are an ideal group for studying trait evolution and diversification at large scales over geologic time. My research sometimes dabbles with taxonomic databases (such as the Paleobiology Database) and other published sources, but I most frequently gather data my own data from first-hand observations of fossil specimens. The majority of my “fieldwork” involves dredging museum collections for exceptionally preserved specimens, but I also have a passion for paleontology in the field and am always looking for new ways to involve field-based data into my research.
I am presently involved in a number of different projects, including: new approaches to estimate fossil phylogenies that attempt to account for the incompleteness of the fossil record, ways to statistically test speciation models and ancestor–descendant relationships, and documenting global patterns of biodiversification during key intervals of Earth history. A recent project of mine has focused on disentangling the relationship between rates of evolutionary change and the accumulation of morphological variation within lineages. One might expect that when the rate of morphological evolution increases, you would have an associated increase in the overall diversity of body plans. However, results from my work suggest that elevated rates of evolution are often decoupled with changes in morphological variation. In fact, elevated rates may frequently involve multiple, independent radiations of distantly related species driven toward a pre-existing adaptive optimum by environmental change. Furthermore, major global change events throughout Earth history have acted to create, eliminate, or ‘reset’ ecological optima on the adaptive landscape upon which lineages evolve, which further complicates associations between rates of evolution and the diversity of anatomical forms. In addition to these broader issues, my phylogenetic research has also resulted in major taxonomic revisions of fossil and living crinoids.

Being a scientist is fun! When I’m not measuring fossils, coding their anatomical traits, or describing new species, I’m most likely writing R code or conducting some kind of computer-based analysis of paleontological data. Some days I teach or engage in public outreach; other days I brush up on probability theory or new computational methods. Sometimes I daydream about crinoids. One of the best parts of being a scientist is that you get to use your creativity to satiate your intellectual curiosity.
To learn more about Davey’s work click through to his website here or follow him on twitter here.
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