Dr Suzanne Williams
Researcher, Head of Division
Division: LS Invertebrates Division
Summary
Evolution of 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 the phylum Mollusca. Surprisingly given the range of colours and patterns in this group, nearly all molluscs are thought to be colour blind and most have poor visual acuity and yet they showcase the greatest diversity of eye types in the animal kingdom. My vision studies are focussed on two key innovations: the loss of eyes in deep-sea gastropods and evolution of camera-type eyes in strombid gastropods (with PhD student Alison Irwin, NHM & University of Bristol, Cambridge University, NERC GW4 DTP). My colour studies have focussed mainly on the identification of shell pigments and the molecular pathways responsible for their production in molluscs and echinoderms. I am particularly interested in heritable colour polymorphisms, where alternate colour morphs occur within a single species and are genetically controlled (with PhD student Hugh Carter, NHM & UCL, NERC London DTP).
Drivers affecting diversification in the sea
This project focuses on determining the origins of biodiversity and the factors that drive speciation and diversification in the marine environment. In particular, I am interested in identifying which global, regional and local factors have been important in shaping tropical marine diversity, with a focus on the tropical Indo-West Pacific and trochoidean gastropods.
Employment history
- Head of Invertebrate Division, Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 2017 - ongoing
- Researcher, Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 2003 - ongoing
- Post-doctoral fellow, Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology, United Kingdom, 2001 - 2003
- Postdoctoral fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, 1997 - 2000
- PhD student, Australian Institute of Marine Science & James Cook University, Australia, 1992 - 1997
- Experimental Scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia, 1989 - 1992
Academic
Grants
World Congress of Malacology 2010
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: Royal Society
Total value £1,470 (to Museum £1,470)
Dates: 2010 - 2010
Global taxonomic revision of the deep-sea marine gastropod family Solariellidae
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: EDIT (European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy)
Total value £17,393 (to Museum £17,393)
Dates: 2009 - 2010
Global taxonomic revision of the deep-sea marine gastropod family Solariellidae
Role: Principal investigator
Total value £15,520
Dates: 2009 - 2010
Origins of shallow and deep-water tropical diversity
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: CoSyst (Collaborative Scheme for Systematics Research)
Total value £6,110 (to Museum £6,110)
Dates: 2009 - 2010
Speciation in marine broadcast spawning invertebrates: global biogeography of tropical gastropod genus Turbo
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: NERC
Total value £46,561 (to Museum £46,561)
Dates: 2004 - 2007
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: National Geographic Society
Total value £14,600 (to Museum £14,600)
Global phylogeny and biogeography of the tropical gastropod genus Turbo
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: Systematics Association
Total value £820
To present keynote lecture at the World Congress of Malacology in Antwerp, Belgium
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: Royal Society
Total value £660
The description of coastal, salt marsh and wet-forest talitrid amphipods of Australia (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae)
Role: Principal investigatorHughes LE
Co-investigator: Lugli E
Funding: Australian Biological Resources Study
Dates: 2018 - on going
Molecular investigation on skewed sex ratio in Mytilus spp. populations from the Gulf of Gdansk
Role: Co-investigator
Funding: Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education
Total value £33,600
Dates: 2009 - 2012
Molecular phylogeny and evolutionary divergence of Lucinidae, the largest family of chemoautotrophic molluscs
Role: Principal investigatorTaylor J
Role: Co-investigator
Funding: NERC
Total value £18,799 (to Museum £18,799)
Dates: 2003 - 2004
Role: Principal investigator
Funding: National Geographic Society
Total value £14,600 (to Museum £14,600)
Other projects
Molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis course.
Role: Leader
Funding: Museum development
Dates: 2015 - 2015.
Molluscan deep-sea diversity
Role: Leader
Funding: Museum development
Systematics of Trochoidea
Role: Leader
Funding: Museum development
External Positions
Council Member of Unitas Malacologia, 2016 - on going.
President of the Malacological Society of London, 2015 - on going.
Chair of the Awards Committee, Malacological Society of London, 2012 - 2015.
Vice President of the Malacological Society of London, 2009 - 2012.
Council Member, Malacological Society of London, 2006 - 2009.
Committees
Other, Centre for Ecology and Evolution, 2014 - on going.
Editorships
Associate editor, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2011 - 2014.
Associate editor, Journal of Molluscan Studies, 2003 - on going.
Events
Organisation
Organising committee, Colour and Vision: Through the eyes of nature, (Exhibition), 2016 - 2016.
Organising committee, Seventh European Conference of Malacology, Cambridge, (Conference), 2014 - 2014.
Organising committee, Molecular Phylogenetics and Palaeontology Symposium at World Congress of Malacology, Azores, (Symposium),
Organising committee, Southeast Asian Gateway Evolution Meeting, (Conference),
Organiser, Speciation in Molluscs. 115th AGM, Malacological Society of London, (Symposium),
Organiser, Species delimitation and chirality: molluscs as model organisms. 120th AGM, Malacologial Society of London, (Symposium),
Organiser, Resolving deep relationships in Mollusca. 123rd AGM, Malacological Society of London, (Symposium),
Organiser, Symposium on Colour and Vision in Molluscs, 124th AGM, Malacological Society of London, (Symposium),
Internal Positions
Head of Invertebrate Division, Dept of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, 2017 - on going.
Scientific Lead for temporary exhibition, "Colour and Vision: Through the eyes of nature", 2015 - 2016.
Publications
Irwin AR, Strong EE, Kano Y, Harper EM, Williams ST (2021) Eight new mitogenomes clarify the phylogenetic relationships of Stromboidea within the caenogastropod phylogenetic framework. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 158 : 107081 - 107081. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107081
Sumner-Rooney L, Kenny NJ, Ahmed F, Williams ST (null) The utility of micro-computed tomography for the non-destructive study of eye microstructure in snails. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) : doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51909-z
Wade J, Pugh H, Nightingale J, Kim J, Williams ST (2019) Colour in bivalve shells: Using resonance Raman spectroscopy to compare pigments at different phylogenetic levels. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 50 (10) : 1527 - 1536. doi: 10.1002/jrs.5639
Grant HE, Williams ST (2018) Phylogenetic distribution of shell colour in Bivalvia (Mollusca). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 125 (2) : 377 - 391. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly122
Taylor JD, Glover EA, Harper EM, Crame JA, Ikebe C, Williams ST (2018) Left in the cold? Evolutionary origin of Laternula elliptica, a keystone bivalve species of Antarctic benthos. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 123 (2) : 360 - 376. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blx144
Williams ST, Lockyer AE, Dyal P, Nakano T, Churchill CKC, Speiser DI (2017) Colorful seashells: Identification of haem pathway genes associated with the synthesis of porphyrin shell color in marine snails. Ecology and Evolution, 7 (23) : 10379 - 10397. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3552
Williams ST, Foster PG, Hughes C, Harper EM, Taylor JD, Littlewood DTJ, Dyal P, Hopkins KP, Briscoe AG (2017) Curious bivalves: Systematic utility and unusual properties of anomalodesmatan mitochondrial genomes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 110 : 60 - 72. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.03.004
Castelin M, Williams ST, Buge B, Maestrati P, Lambourdière J, Ozawa T, Utge J, Couloux A, Alf A, Samadi S (null) Untangling species identity in gastropods with polymorphic shells in the genus Bolma Risso, 1826 (Mollusca, Vetigastropoda). European Journal of Taxonomy, doi: 10.5852/ejt.2017.288
Cunha RL, Assis JM, Madeira C, Seabra R, Lima FP, Lopes EP, Williams ST, Castilho R (null) Drivers of Cape Verde archipelagic endemism in keyhole limpets. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) : doi: 10.1038/srep41817
Uribe JE, Williams ST, Templado J, Abalde S, Zardoya R (2017) Denser mitogenomic sampling improves resolution of the phylogeny of the superfamily Trochoidea (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 83 (1) : 111 - 118. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyw049
Wort EJG, Fenberg PB, Williams ST (2017) Testing the contribution of individual genes in mitochondrial genomes for assessing phylogenetic relationships in Vetigastropoda. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 83 (1) : 123 - 128. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyw044
Taylor JD, Glover EA, Smith L, Ikebe C, Williams ST (2016) New molecular phylogeny of Lucinidae: increased taxon base with focus on tropical Western Atlantic species (Mollusca: Bivalvia).. Zootaxa, 4196 (3) : doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4196.3.2
Uribe JE, Williams ST, Templado J, Buge B, Zardoya R (2017) Phylogenetic relationships of Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic Cantharidinae and notes on Stomatellinae (Vetigastropoda: Trochidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 107 : 64 - 79. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.10.009
Sumner-Rooney L, Sigwart JD, McAfee J, Smith L, Williams ST (2016) Repeated eye reduction events reveal multiple pathways to degeneration in a family of marine snails. Evolution, 70 (10) : 2268 - 2295. doi: 10.1111/evo.13022
Williams ST, Ito S, Wakamatsu K, Goral T, Edwards NP, Wogelius RA, Henkel T, de Oliveira LFC, Maia LF, Strekopytov S, Jeffries T, Speiser DI, Marsden JT (null) Identification of Shell Colour Pigments in Marine Snails Clanculus pharaonius and C. margaritarius (Trochoidea; Gastropoda). PLOS ONE, 11 (7) : e0156664 - e0156664. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156664
Glover EA, Williams ST, Taylor JD (2016) Lucinid bivalves of Singapore and their relationships (Bivalvia: Lucinidae). RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY, 539 - 565.
Ward GM, Bennett M, Bateman K, Stentiford GD, Kerr R, Feist SW, Williams ST, Berney C, Bass D (2016) A new phylogeny and environmental DNA insight into paramyxids: an increasingly important but enigmatic clade of protistan parasites of marine invertebrates. International Journal for Parasitology, 46 (10) : 605 - 619. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.04.010
Vilvens C, Williams S (2016) New genus and new species of Solariellidae (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) from New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and French Polynesia, In: Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos 29., Héros V, Strong E, Bouchet P (Eds). null : 267 - 290.
Williams ST (2017) Molluscan shell colour. Biological Reviews, 92 (2) : 1039 - 1058. doi: 10.1111/brv.12268
Williams PH, Byvaltsev AM, Cederberg B, Berezin MV, Ødegaard F, Rasmussen C, Richardson LL, Huang J, Sheffield CS, Williams ST (null) Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees. PLOS ONE, 10 (12) : e0144544 - e0144544. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144544
DiBattista JD, Roberts MB, Bouwmeester J, Bowen BW, Coker DJ, Lozano-Cortés DF, Howard Choat J, Gaither MR, Hobbs J-PA, Khalil MT, Kochzius M, Myers RF, Paulay G, Robitzch VSN, Saenz-Agudelo P, Salas E, Sinclair-Taylor TH, Toonen RJ, Westneat MW, Williams ST, Berumen ML (2016) A review of contemporary patterns of endemism for shallow water reef fauna in the Red Sea. Journal of Biogeography, 43 (3) : 423 - 439. doi: 10.1111/jbi.12649
Cunha RL, Lima FP, Tenorio MJ, Ramos AA, Castilho R, Williams ST (2014) Evolution at a Different Pace: Distinctive Phylogenetic Patterns of Cone Snails from Two Ancient Oceanic Archipelagos. Systematic Biology, 63 (6) : 971 - 987. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syu059
Vilvens C, Williams ST, Herbert DG (2014) New genus Arxellia with new species of Solariellidae (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) from New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Western Australia, Vanuatu and Tonga. Zootaxa, 3826 (1) : 255 - 255. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3826.1.8
Williams ST, Foster PG, Littlewood DTJ (2014) The complete mitochondrial genome of a turbinid vetigastropod from MiSeq Illumina sequencing of genomic DNA and steps towards a resolved gastropod phylogeny. Gene, 533 (1) : 38 - 47. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2013.10.005
Bowen BW, Shanker K, Yasuda N, Celia M, Malay MCMD, von der Heyden S, Paulay G, Rocha LA, Selkoe KA, Barber PH, Williams ST, Lessios HA, Crandall ED, Bernardi G, Meyer CP, Carpenter KE, Toonen RJ (2014) Phylogeography unplugged: comparative surveys in the genomic era. Bulletin of Marine Science, 90 (1) : 13 - 46. doi: 10.5343/bms.2013.1007
Helwerda RA, Wesselingh FP, Williams ST (2014) On some Vetigastropoda (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Philippines with descriptions of three new species. ZOOTAXA, 3755 (2) : 101 - 135. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3755.2.1
Taylor JD, Glover EA, Williams ST (2014) Diversification of chemosymbiotic bivalves: origins and relationships of deeper water Lucinidae. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 111 (2) : 401 - 420. doi: 10.1111/bij.12208
Williams ST, Smith LM, Herbert DG, Marshall BA, Warén A, Kiel S, Dyal P, Linse K, Vilvens C, Kano Y (2013) Cenozoic climate change and diversification on the continental shelf and slope: evolution of gastropod diversity in the family Solariellidae (Trochoidea). Ecology and Evolution, 3 (4) : 887 - 917. doi: 10.1002/ece3.513
Claremont M, Houart R, Williams ST, Reid DG (2013) A molecular phylogenetic framework for the Ergalataxinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 79 (1) : 19 - 29. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eys028
Claremont M, Vermeij GJ, Williams ST, Reid DG (2013) Global phylogeny and new classification of the Rapaninae (Gastropoda: Muricidae), dominant molluscan predators on tropical rocky seashores. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66 (1) : 91 - 102. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.09.014
Lasota R, Piłczyńska J, Williams S, Wołowicz M (2013) Fast and easy method for total DNA extraction and gene amplification from larvae, spat and adult mussels Mytilus trossulus from the Baltic Sea. Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, 42 (4) : 486 - 489. doi: 10.2478/s13545-013-0105-8
Taylor JD, Glover EA, Williams ST (2013) Taxonomy and phylogeny of western Atlantic Lucinidae: new genus for Lucina costata d'Orbigny, 1846, a new species of Ferrocina and neotype designation for Venus orbiculata (Montagu, 1808). NAUTILUS, 127 (4) : 131 - 146.
Williams ST (2013) Margarellinae: a new calliostomatid subfamily. Zoologica Scripta, 42 (2) : 227 - 227. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00566.x
Claremont M, Reid DG, Williams ST (2012) Speciation and dietary specialization inDrupa, a genus of predatory marine snails (Gastropoda: Muricidae). Zoologica Scripta, 41 (2) : 137 - 149. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2011.00512.x
Donald KM, Preston J, Williams ST, Reid DG, Winter D, Alvarez R, Buge B, Hawkins SJ, Templado J, Spencer HG (2012) Phylogenetic relationships elucidate colonization patterns in the intertidal grazers Osilinus Philippi, 1847 and Phorcus Risso, 1826 (Gastropoda: Trochidae) in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 62 (1) : 35 - 45. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.09.002
GOWER DJ, JOHNSON KG, Richardson JE, ROSEN BR, Rüber L, WILLIAMS ST (2012) Biotic evolution and environmental change in Southeast Asia. The Systematics Association Special Volume 82 & Cambridge University Press : Cambridge. i - 475.
Reid DG, Dyal P, Williams ST (2012) A global molecular phylogeny of 147 periwinkle species (Gastropoda, Littorininae). Zoologica Scripta, 41 (2) : 125 - 136. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2011.00505.x
Williams ST (2012) Advances in molecular systematics of the vetigastropod superfamily Trochoidea. Zoologica Scripta, 41 (6) : 571 - 595. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00552.x
Williams ST, Hall A, Kuklinski P (2012) Unraveling Cryptic Diversity in the Indo-West Pacific Gastropod GenusLunella(Turbinidae) using Elliptic Fourier Analysis*. American Malacological Bulletin, 30 (1) : 189 - 206. doi: 10.4003/006.030.0117
Claremont M, Reid DG, Williams ST (2011) Evolution of corallivory in the gastropod genus Drupella. Coral Reefs, 30 (4) : 977 - 990. doi: 10.1007/s00338-011-0788-5
TAYLOR JD, GLOVER EA, SMITH L, DYAL P, WILLIAMS ST (2011) Molecular phylogeny and classification of the chemosymbiotic bivalve family Lucinidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163 (1) : 15 - 49. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00700.x
WILLIAMS ST, Apte D, Ozawa T, Kagilis F, Nakano T (2011) Speciation and dispersal along continental coastlines and island arcs in the Indo-West Pacific turbinid gastropod genus Lunella.. Evolution, 65 : doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01255.x
Claremont M, Williams ST, Barraclough TG, Reid DG (2011) The geographic scale of speciation in a marine snail with high dispersal potential. Journal of Biogeography, 38 (6) : 1016 - 1032. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02482.x
Barco A, Claremont M, Reid DG, Houart R, Bouchet P, Williams ST, Cruaud C, Couloux A, Oliverio M (2010) A molecular phylogenetic framework for the Muricidae, a diverse family of carnivorous gastropods. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 56 (3) : 1025 - 1039. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.03.008
Reid DG, Dyal P, Williams ST (2010) Global diversification of mangrove fauna: a molecular phylogeny of Littoraria (Gastropoda: Littorinidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 55 (1) : 185 - 201. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.036
Williams ST, Donald KM, Spencer HG, Nakano T (2010) Molecular systematics of the marine gastropod families Trochidae and Calliostomatidae (Mollusca: Superfamily Trochoidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 54 (3) : 783 - 809. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.11.008
Taylor JD, Glover EA, Williams ST (2009) Phylogenetic position of the bivalve family Cyrenoididae-removal from (and further dismantling of) the superfamily Lucinoidea. NAUTILUS, 123 (1) : 9 - 13.
Williams ST, Karube S, Ozawa T (2008) Molecular systematics of Vetigastropoda: Trochidae, Turbinidae and Trochoidea redefined. Zoologica Scripta, 37 (5) : 483 - 506. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00341.x
Reid DG, Dyal P, Lozouet P, Glaubrecht M, Williams ST (2008) Mudwhelks and mangroves: The evolutionary history of an ecological association (Gastropoda: Potamididae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 47 (2) : 680 - 699. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.01.003
Claremont M, Reid DG, Williams ST (2008) A molecular phylogeny of the Rapaninae and Ergalataxinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 74 (3) : 215 - 221. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyn005
GLOVER EA, TAYLOR JD, WILLIAMS ST (2008) Mangrove-assocated lucinid bivalves of the central Indo-West Pacific: review of the "Austriella" group with a new genus and species (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Lucinidae). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 18 : 25 - 40.
TAYLOR JD, GLOVER EA, WILLIAMS ST (2008) Ancient chemosynthetic bivalves: systematics of Solemyidae from eastern and southern Australia (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum — Nature Brisbane., In: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Davie PJF, Phillips JA (Eds). Memoirs of Queensland Museum - Nature, 54(1) : 75 - 104.
WILLIAMS ST (2008) The calcareous operculum as a character for defining subgenera in the marine gastropod genus Turbo. Vita Malacologica, 1 : 1 - 13.
WILLIAMS ST, Duda TF (2008) Did tectonic activity stimulate oligo-miocene speciation in the Indo-west Pacific?. Evolution, 62 : 1618 - 1634. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00399.x
WILLIAMS ST, Karube S, Ozawa Y (2008) Molecular systematics of Vetigastropoda: Trochidae, Turbinidae and Trochoidea redefined. Zoologica Scripta, 37 : doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00341
Williams ST (2007) Safe and legal shipment of tissue samples: does it affect DNA quality?. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 73 (4) : 416 - 418. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eym039
Taylor JD, Williams ST, Glover EA (2007) Evolutionary relationships of the bivalve family Thyasiridae (Mollusca: Bivalvia), monophyly and superfamily status. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 87 (2) : 565 - 574. doi: 10.1017/s0025315407054409
Taylor JD, Williams ST, Glover EA, Dyal P (2007) A molecular phylogeny of heterodont bivalves (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Heterodonta): new analyses of 18S and 28S rRNA genes. Zoologica Scripta, 36 (6) : 587 - 606. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2007.00299.x
Vermeij GJ, Williams ST (2007) Predation and the geography of opercular thickness in turbinid gastropods. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 73 (1) : 67 - 73. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyl032
WILLIAMS ST (null) Origins and diversification of Indo-West Pacific marine fauna: evolutionary history and biogeography of turban shells (Gastropoda, Turbinidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 92 (3) : 573 - 592. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00854.x
Reid DG, Lal K, Mackenzie-Dodds J, Kaligis F, Littlewood DTJ, Williams ST (2006) Comparative phylogeography and species boundaries in Echinolittorina snails in the central Indo-West Pacific. Journal of Biogeography, 33 (6) : 990 - 1006. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01469.x
Williams ST, Ozawa T (2006) Molecular phylogeny suggests polyphyly of both the turban shells (family Turbinidae) and the superfamily Trochoidea (Mollusca: Vetigastropoda). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 39 (1) : 33 - 51. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.017
TAYLOR JD, GLOVER EA, WILLIAMS ST (2005) Another bloody bivalve: anatomy and relationships of Eucrassatella donacina from south western Australia (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Crassatellidae), In: The marine Flora and Fauna of Esperance, Western Australia, Wells FE, Walker DI, Kendrick GA (Eds). Western Australian Museum : Perth. 261 - 288.
Reid DG, Williams ST (2004) The subfamily Littorininae (Gastropoda: Littorinidae) in the temperate Southern Hemisphere: the genera Nodilittorina, Austrolittorina and Afrolittorina. Records of the Australian Museum, 56 (1) : 75 - 122. doi: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.56.2004.1393
Williams ST, Reid DG (2004) SPECIATION AND DIVERSITY ON TROPICAL ROCKY SHORES: A GLOBAL PHYLOGENY OF SNAILS OF THE GENUS ECHINOLITTORINA. Evolution, 58 (10) : 2227 - 2251. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2004.tb01600.x
WILLIAMS ST, TAYLOR JD, GLOVER EA (2004) MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF THE LUCINOIDEA (BIVALVIA): NON‐MONOPHYLY AND SEPARATE ACQUISITION OF BACTERIAL CHEMOSYMBIOSIS. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 70 (2) : 187 - 202. doi: 10.1093/mollus/70.2.187
Williams ST (2002) The Marine Indo-West Pacific Break: Contrasting the Resolving Power of Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 42 (5) : 941 - 952. doi: 10.1093/icb/42.5.941
Williams ST, Reid DG, Littlewood DTJ (2003) A molecular phylogeny of the Littorininae (Gastropoda: Littorinidae): unequal evolutionary rates, morphological parallelism, and biogeography of the Southern Ocean. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 28 (1) : 60 - 86. doi: 10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00038-1
Williams ST, Knowlton N (2001) Mitochondrial Pseudogenes Are Pervasive and Often Insidious in the Snapping Shrimp Genus Alpheus. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 18 (8) : 1484 - 1493. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003934
Williams ST, Knowlton N, Weigt LA, Jara JA (2001) Evidence for Three Major Clades within the Snapping Shrimp Genus Alpheus Inferred from Nuclear and Mitochondrial Gene Sequence Data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 20 (3) : 375 - 389. doi: 10.1006/mpev.2001.0976
Williams ST (2000) Species boundaries in the starfish genus Linckia. Marine Biology, 136 (1) : 137 - 148. doi: 10.1007/s002270050016
Williams ST, Knowlton N, Weigt LA (1999) Indo-Pacific molecular biogeography of the coral-dwelling snapping shrimp Alpheus lottini (Decapoda: Caridea: Alpheidae)., In: Ecology of the Chagos Archipelago, Sheppard CRC, Seaward MRD (Eds). Linnean Society Occasional Publications 2, Westbury Press : London. 195 - 206.
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1998) Phylogenetic relationships among giant clam species (Mollusca: Tridacnidae) determined by protein electrophoresis. Marine Biology, 132 (1) : 123 - 133. doi: 10.1007/s002270050378
Williams ST, Benzie JAH (1998) EVIDENCE OF A BIOGEOGRAPHIC BREAK BETWEEN POPULATIONS OF A HIGH DISPERSAL STARFISH: CONGRUENT REGIONS WITHIN THE INDO-WEST PACIFIC DEFINED BY COLOR MORPHS,
Williams ST, Benzie JAH (1997) Indo‐West Pacific patterns of genetic differentiation in the high‐dispersal starfish Linckia laevigata. Molecular Ecology, 6 (6) : 559 - 573. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.1997.00221.x
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1997) GENETIC STRUCTURE OF GIANT CLAM (TRIDACNA MAXIMA) POPULATIONS IN THE WEST PACIFIC IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH DISPERSAL BY PRESENT-DAY OCEAN CURRENTS. Evolution, 51 (3) : 768 - 783. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1997.tb03660.x
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1996) Limitations in the genetic variation of hatchery produced batches of the giant clam, Tridacna gigas. Aquaculture, 139 (3-4) : 225 - 241. doi: 10.1016/0044-8486(95)01171-4
Williams ST, Benzie JAH (1996) Genetic uniformity of widely separated populations of the coral reef starfishLinckia laevigata from the East Indian and West Pacific Oceans, revealed by allozyme electrophoresis. Marine Biology, 126 (1) : 99 - 107. doi: 10.1007/bf00571381
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1995) Gene flow among giant clam (Tridacna gigas) populations in Pacific does not parallel ocean circulation. Marine Biology, 123 (4) : 781 - 787. doi: 10.1007/bf00349121
Williams ST, Benzie JAH (1993) Genetic consequences of long larval life in the starfish Linckia laevigata (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) on the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology, 117 (1) : 71 - 77. doi: 10.1007/bf00346427
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1993) Allozyme electrophoretic methods for analysing genetic variation in giant clams (Tridacnidae). 50.
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1992) Genetic structure of giant clam (Tridacna maxima) populations from reefs in the Western Coral Sea. Coral Reefs, 11 (3) : 135 - 141. doi: 10.1007/bf00255467
Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1992) No genetic differentiation of giant clam (Tridacna gigas) populations in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine Biology, 113 (3) : 373 - 377. doi: 10.1007/bf00349161
Macaranas JM, Ablan CA, Pante MJR, Benzie JAH, Williams ST (1992) Genetic structure of giant clam (Tridacna derasa) populations from reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Marine Biology, 113 : 231 - 238.
Williams ST (1992) Methods for analysis of genetic variation in the blue starfish, Linckia laevigata, using allozyme electrophoresis.
VILVENS C, WILLIAMS ST (null) <p><strong>New species of <em>Ilanga</em> (Gastropoda: Trochoidea: Solariellidae) from the Indo-West Pacific</strong></p>. Zootaxa, 4732 (2) : 201 - 257. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4732.2.1
Williams ST, Kano Y, Warén A, Herbert DG (2020) Marrying molecules and morphology: first steps towards a reevaluation of solariellid genera (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) in the light of molecular phylogenetic studies. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 86 (1) : 1 - 26. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyz038
Wort EJG, Chapman MA, Hawkins SJ, Henshall L, Pita A, Rius M, Williams ST, Fenberg PB (2019) Contrasting genetic structure of sympatric congeneric gastropods: Do differences in habitat preference, abundance and distribution matter?. Journal of Biogeography, 46 (2) : 369 - 380. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13502
Courses taught
Short course: Integrating molecules with taxonomy and systematics
, London
5/2018.
Short course: Molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis
Natural History Museum, London
2/2018.
Postgraduate: Integrating molecules with taxonomy and systematics: an introductory molecular phylogenetics course for species identification and evolutionary analysis
5/2017.
Postgraduate: An introductory molecular phylogenetics course: molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analyses
Natural History Museum, London, London, United Kingdom
2/2016 - on going.
Postgraduate: Molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis
Supervision
Doctorate (PhD) Co-supervisor to Wort E
Co supervisor(s): Fenberg P
The role of habitat gaps and oceanography on the biogeography of rocky intertidal species over historic time scales
Funding: SPITFIRE
2014 - on going.
Master's Lead supervisor to Braun L-M
Determining the origin of Antarctic calliostomatids: a molecular phylogeny of carnivorous gastropods
Imperial College London, London
Natural History Museum, London
2012 - on going.
Master's Adviser to Pilczynska J
Co supervisor(s): Wolowicz M
Genetic structure of Mytilus trossulus (Bivalvia) from the Gulf of Gdańsk
University of Gdynia, Poland
2008 - 2011.
Master's Lead supervisor to Hazel Pugh
Co supervisor(s): Williams S
Colour in bivalves: biogeography of shell colour and analysis of pigmentation using Raman microspectroscopic techniques
Imperial College London, London, London, United Kingdom
Master's Lead supervisor to Heather Grant
Co supervisor(s): Williams S
Colour in Bivalvia: a systematic approach
Imperial College London, London, London, United Kingdom
Doctorate (PhD) Joint supervisor to Claremont M
Diversification of carnivorous marine snails: phylogeny, biogeography and dietary specialization
Imperial College, London
Natural History Museum, London
Lead supervisor to Hever B
Tectarius phylogeny and re-examination of littorinid phylogeny using new gene sequence
Imperial College, London
Master's Lead supervisor to Claremont M
Unravelling a taxonomic tangle and a morphological mystery: a molecular phylogeny of the Muricidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda)
Imperial College, London
Natural History Museum, London
Examiner
External examiner, Doctoral degree
9/2014
Examination committee member, Masters degree
2013
Examination committee member, Masters degree
2012
Examination committee member, Masters degree
2012
Examination committee member, Masters degree
2011
External examiner, Doctoral degree
11/2010
External examiner, Doctoral degree
11/2008
External examiner, Doctoral degree
2/2004
External examiner, Masters degree
2001
Course developed
Co developers: Williams S
Integrating molecules with taxonomy and systematics: an introductory molecular phylogenetics course for species identification and evolutionary analysis, Natural History Museum, London, London, United Kingdom
8/5/2017
Co developers: Williams S
An introductory molecular phylogenetics course: molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis, Natural History Museum, London, London, United Kingdom
20/2/2017
Molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis, Natural History Museum, London
2/2015