Dr. Kevin Arbuckle

My research aims to understand the origin and evolution of biodiversity, focusing on venomous and poisonous animals. It revolves around the application of the phylogenetic comparative approach to a diverse range of problems of a fundamental nature, with occasional steps in a more applied direction. Broad areas of research include the evolution of venomous animals and their venoms, the association between organismal traits (such as chemical weaponry) and evolutionary diversification, the behavioural ecology of antipredator defence, and convergent evolution. However, my research has ranged from exotic animal husbandry to human behavioural ecology as I maintain a multidisciplinary scope to my work. I am currently working on study systems including invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds, but have a particularly strong focus on amphibians and reptiles.