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

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A feathered past: Colonial influences on bird naming practices, and a new common name for Ardenna carneipes (Gould 1844)
(Wiley, 2024-09-03) Bond, Alexander; Lavers, Jennifer L
Recently, there has been increased focus on the origins and history of common names for organisms, especially birds. Of particular interest are eponymous common names that reflect our colonial past. While identification of alternative names can be straightforward for some species, for those that migrate across jurisdictions including the lands of multiple Traditional Owner/Indigenous groups, reaching consensus on a single name that reflects the features of the species and their cultural importance can be substantially more complex. Using the migratory Ardenna carneipes as a case study, we propose a new common name (Sable Shearwater) for the species and discuss the many challenges that others will need to consider when navigating this important yet sensitive space.
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Cyclone Ilsa in April 2023 led to significant seabird mortality on Bedout Island
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-06-06) Lavers, Jennifer L; Mead, Tanya M; Fidler, Andrew L; Bond, Alexander
Abstract: On 13 April 2023, Cyclone Ilsa crossed Bedout Island in the Timor Sea off Western Australia’s remote north coast. Extensive damage was done to the entire island, with all coastal vegetation stripped clear from the island’s surface. Here we use repeated aerial and ground-based transect surveys of Bedout’s important seabird populations during 17 April – 21 July 2023 and Monte Carlo modelling to estimate total mortality for three species. We estimate that 80–90% of the populations of three seabird species (Masked Booby Sula dactylatra bedouti, Brown Booby S. leucogaster, and Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel) were killed in the storm, with only 40 breeding Masked Booby (a putative endemic subspecies) recorded on the island 15 weeks later. The frequency and intensity of such storms is likely approaching a threshold beyond which Bedout’s seabirds cannot readily recover, with cyclones hitting the island, on average, every seven years in recent decades. We discuss the implications for Bedout Island, and for wildlife conservation more broadly in the face of increasing, climate-driven storms and impacts documented worldwide.
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Twenty years of the “radical middle ground” – our work has only just begun
(Resilience Alliance, Inc., 2024) Bond, Alexander; Lavers, Jennifer
Metadata only
Typifications in the tribe Browallieae (Cestroideae: Solanaceae)
(Wiley, 2025-10-13) Hoyos, David; Knapp, Sandra; Deanna, Rocío
Abstract The tribe Browallieae is a monophyletic group comprising Browallia and Streptosolen. These genera are of significant interest in the horticulture industry due to their ornamental potential. Despite their clear placement in Solanaceae, the tribe presents several taxonomic, phylogenetic, and nomenclatural challenges. Our study addresses these last issues as the first step to resolving the systematic and circumscription problems of the group. We analyze all the 45 names historically attributed to the tribe Browallieae, of which only 24 are currently recognized as accepted species. Browallia americana is the taxon with the highest synonymy, with 5 homotypic and 15 heterotypic synonyms. We designate 30 lectotypes and 3 neotypes, 18 based on herbarium specimens and 15 on original illustrations.
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Key Roles of Dipterocarpaceae, Bark Type Diversity and Tree Size in Lowland Rainforests of Northeast Borneo—Using Functional Traits of Lichens to Distinguish Plots of Old Growth and Regenerating Logged Forests
(MDPI AG, 2021-03-21) Thüs, Holger; Wolseley, Pat; Carpenter, Dan; Eggleton, Paul; Reynolds, Glen; Vairappan, Charles S; Weerakoon, Gothamie; Mrowicki, Robert J
Many lowland rainforests in Southeast Asia are severely altered by selective logging and there is a need for rapid assessment methods to identify characteristic communities of old growth forests and to monitor restoration success in regenerating forests. We have studied the effect of logging on the diversity and composition of lichen communities on trunks of trees in lowland rainforests of northeast Borneo dominated by Dipterocarpaceae. Using data from field observations and vouchers collected from plots in disturbed and undisturbed forests, we compared a taxonomy-based and a taxon-free method. Vouchers were identified to genus or genus group and assigned to functional groups based on sets of functional traits. Both datasets allowed the detection of significant differences in lichen communities between disturbed and undisturbed forest plots. Bark type diversity and the proportion of large trees, particularly those belonging to the family Dipterocarpaceae, were the main drivers of lichen community structure. Our results confirm the usefulness of a functional groups approach for the rapid assessment of tropical lowland rainforests in Southeast Asia. A high proportion of Dipterocarpaceae trees is revealed as an essential element for the restoration of near natural lichen communities in lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia.