Siboga bryozoan © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Our research
Dispersal and diversification in freshwater environments
Animals that inhabit freshwaters must deal with the unique challenges of living in such environments.
Report your invasive crab sightings
We are asking the public to report sightings of the more established Chinese mitten crab and new invader the Asian shore crab.
Fyke net trials
Recommending fyke nets to reduce numbers of invasive mitten crabs in the River Thames, while assisting in the conservation of eels.
Deep-sea systematics and ecology research group
We are interested in the origins, adaptive radiation, classification, biodiversity and ecological interactions of deep-sea animals.
Origins of marine biodiversity
We are studying the phylogeny of the gastropod superfamily Trochoidea in order to understand the origin of marine biodiversity in tropical oceans.
Emerging diseases
Many diseases of wild and farmed animals are emerging due to climate change, habitat degradation and associated biotic responses.
Comparative venomics research
We are using cutting-edge technology and methods to examine the toxins produced by relatively neglected venomous taxa.
Colour and vision in marine invertebrates
The evolutionary history of colour and vision has been closely intertwined over the last 500 million years, leading to a dazzling diversity of colours and visual systems in marine invertebrates.
DeWorm3
We are testing the feasibility of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths and developing cost-effective methods for elimination programmes.
Parasitic genomics
We are characterising parasitic genomes and using the data for evolutionary developmental biology, phylogenomics and targeted drug design.
Copepod colonisation and parasitism
We are describing and documenting patterns of copepod species to determine how their diversity evolves.
Schistosomiasis research group
Our groundbreaking research is aimed at understanding and controlling this neglected tropical disease.
Invertebrate (non-insect) collections
Invertebrate news
-
Science newsStudying tiny, tropical and ancient marine invertebrates
Museum palaeontologist Emanuela Di Martino has been studying ancient bryozoans to understand ocean diversity.
25 April 2018 -
NewsFirst dive to hydrothermal vent uncovers new deep-sea creatures
Researchers have found seven new animal species living along the Southwest Indian Ridge, 3,000 metres beneath the surface of the ocean, in an area targeted for deep-sea mining.
22 December 2016 -
AnthropoceneMore than a quarter of fish in the Thames Estuary are eating plastic
Microplastics are having an enormous impact.
-
NewsWhy sea snails are pretty in pink
Museum-led research uncovers the pigments that give the sea snails Clanculus pharaonius and C. margaritarius their striking pink and yellow-brown shells.
13 July 2016 -
NewsDredged from the deep: huge donation of specimens arrives from the ocean floor
Thousands of ocean animal specimens have joined the Museum's collections, including a group of rare anglerfish.
8 June 2018 -
NewsNew life found at the bottom of Antarctic seas
A massive survey of life in the freezing seas around Antarctica has shown that they harbour many more animals than previously thought.
25 January 2018 -
NewsSlave trade brought deadly parasite to the Caribbean
Schistosoma mansoni, a water-borne parasite that affects millions of people worldwide, was carried to the Americas by the slave trade, researchers have found.
18 February 2016 -
NewsFirst bone-eating worm found in warm waters
Museum scientists have found that Osedax worms, which feed on the bones of whale carcasses, can live in shallow Mediterranean waters.
13 April 2016
