The Natural History Museum repository

Welcome to The Natural History Museum repository

The Natural History Museum is an international leader in the study of the natural world. Our science describes the diversity of nature, promotes an understanding of its past, and supports the anticipation and management of the impact of human activity on the environment.

The Museum's repository provides free access to publications produced by more than 300 scientists working here. Researchers at the Museum study a diverse range of issues, including threats to Earth's biodiversity, the maintenance of delicate ecosystems, environmental pollution and disease. The accessible repository showcases this broad research output.

The repository was launched in 2016 with an initially modest number of journal publications in its database. It now includes book chapters and blogs from Museum scientists.

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Science

Recent Submissions

Open Access
New insights into the evolutionary history of Fungi from a 407 Ma Blastocladiomycota fossil showing a complex hyphal thallus
(The Royal Society, 2017-12-18) Strullu-Derrien, C; Spencer, Alan RT; Goral, Tomasz; Dee, Jaclyn; Honegger, Rosmarie; Kenrick, Paul; Longcore, Joyce E; Berbee, Mary L
Zoosporic fungi are key saprotrophs and parasites of plants, animals and other fungi, playing important roles in ecosystems. They comprise at least three phyla, of which two, Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota, developed a range of thallus morphologies including branching hyphae. Here we describe Retesporangicus lyonii gen. et sp. nov., an exceptionally well preserved fossil, which is the earliest known to produce multiple sporangia on an expanded hyphal network. To better characterize the fungus we develop a new method to render surfaces from image stacks generated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Here, the method helps to reveal thallus structure. Comparisons with cultures of living species and character state reconstructions analysed against recent molecular phylogenies of 24 modern zoosporic fungi indicate an affinity with Blastocladiomycota. We argue that in zoosporic fungi, kinds of filaments such as hyphae, rhizoids and rhizomycelium are developmentally similar structures adapted for varied functions including nutrient absorption and anchorage. The fossil is the earliest known type to develop hyphae which likely served as a saprotrophic adaptation to patchy resource availability. Evidence from the Rhynie chert provides our earliest insights into the biology of fungi and their roles in the environment. It demonstrates that zoosporic fungi were already diverse in 407 million-year-old terrestrial ecosystems. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The Rhynie cherts: our earliest terrestrial ecosystem revisited’.
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Lithium Inventory of the Cerro Galán Volcanic System (Argentina): The Role of Magmatism as a Source for Li-Bearing Brine Deposits
(Society of Economic Geologists, Inc., 2025-05-28) Cortes-Calderon, Edgar Alejandro; Ellis, BS; Tavazzani, L; Magna, T; Harris, C; Benson, TR
Abstract: Lithium-rich brines in South America’s Li triangle host Earth’s largest Li reserves, crucial for the global energy transition. Although Cenozoic magmatism near salars in the Li triangle often is considered as a major potential Li source, there is limited characterization of Li behavior in these magmatic systems. To address this, we present the first detailed Li study of the voluminous ignimbrites within the Cerro Galán volcanic system, a potential Li source for the Salar del Hombre Muerto, which is actively producing Li for batteries. Although most Cerro Galán volcanic system units exhibit normal Li concentrations in groundmass glass (30–50 ppm) relative to rhyolitic centers globally, the ~630-km3 Cerro Galán ignimbrite contains glass with significantly higher Li contents (>90 ppm), reflecting increased melt differentiation. Throughout the volcanic system, plagioclase and quartz display varied Li contents influenced by syneruptive degassing, and additionally for plagioclase, posteruptive modifications. Biotites in the Cerro Galán volcanic system are magmatic and range from 1 to 689 ppm Li, with biotites returning low analytical totals (low total biotites) enriched in Li, Pb, and Cs, consistent with the entrapment of an Li-rich magmatic volatile phase during biotite crystallization. Such a magmatic volatile phase is isotopically light (δ7Li as low as –23‰) and may reach 10,000 ppm Li according to binary mixing modeling. We propose that large magmatic centers, like the Cerro Galán volcanic system, may sustain exsolution of such a magmatic volatile phase and its transport through caldera-hosted hydrothermal systems. When such volcanic centers overlap with closed-basin watershed, magmatic Li-rich fluids could be selectively transported into basins, representing a source for Li-bearing salars, such as in the Salar del Hombre Muerto situated near the Cerro Galán volcanic system.
Open Access
Was Gilbert White the first to use an ‘X’ as a kiss?
(Edinburgh University Press, 2025-10) West, SVL
Metadata only
Global changes and their environmental stressors have a significant impact on soil biodiversity—A meta-analysis
(Elsevier BV, 2024-07-20) Phillips, Helen RP; Cameron, Erin K; Eisenhauer, Nico; Burton, VJ; Ferlian, Olga; Jin, Yiming; Kanabar, Sahana; Malladi, Sandhya; Murphy, Rowan E; Peter, Anne; Petrocelli, Isis; Ristok, Christian; Tyndall, Katharine; van der Putten, Wim; Beaumelle, Léa
Identifying the main threats to soil biodiversity is crucial as soils harbor ∼60% of global biodiversity. Many previous meta-analyses investigating the impact of different global changes (GCs) on biodiversity have omitted soil fauna or are limited by the GCs studied. We conducted a broad-scale meta-analysis focused on soil fauna communities, analyzing 3,161 effect sizes from 624 publications studying climate change, land-use intensification, pollution, nutrient enrichment, invasive species and habitat fragmentation. Land-use intensification resulted in large reductions in soil fauna communities, especially for the larger-bodied groups. Unexpectedly, pollution caused the largest negative impact on soil biodiversity - particularly worrying due to continually increasing levels of pollution and poor mechanistic understanding of impacts relative to other GCs. Not all GCs and stressors were detrimental; organic-based nutrient enrichment often resulted in positive responses. Including soil biodiversity in large-scale analyses is vital to fully understand the impact of GCs across the different realms.
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Earthworm Watch: Insights into urban earthworm communities in the UK using citizen science
(Elsevier BV, 2024-04-20) Burton, VJ; Jones, Alan G; Robinson, Lucy D; Eggleton, P; Purvis, A
The distribution of earthworm ecological groups in urban areas is not well-known, despite their crucial role in delivering soil ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and water drainage. Citizen science engages public audiences in the scientific research process and is an excellent tool for collecting biodiversity data in urban areas, where most of the UK population resides. However, a disadvantage is that differing levels of skill and engagement among participants can create statistical challenges. The Earthworm Watch citizen science project used 668 matched-pair surveys to estimate how the abundance and ecological diversity of earthworms respond to land management practices, and soil properties in UK urban habitats. A total of 5170 earthworms were counted during the project with a mean of 8 earthworms per soil pit - equivalent to a density of 198 earthworms per m2. Soil moisture and texture were the largest drivers of total earthworm abundance, with habitat borderline statistically insignificant. Endogeic earthworms were found in 71 % of soil pits, epigeic in 62 % and anecic in 33 %. Fertiliser use also had a significant effect on total abundance, but only when organic fertiliser was used. Earthworm ecological groups demonstrated varied responses to habitat, with endogeic earthworms consistently the most abundant group, showing slight preferences for grasslands and vegetable beds. Anecic earthworms had the lowest abundance across all habitats but were more prevalent in grasslands and vegetable beds. Epigeic earthworms were most abundant beneath shrubs and hedges. These findings align with expected patterns of earthworm ecology, underscoring the potential of well-designed citizen science projects to yield valuable insights into urban earthworms and soil health.