Elizabeth Harper (biologist)

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Elizabeth Harper
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge Open University
Scientific career
Thesis The evolution of the cemented habit in the bivalved molluscs  (1991)

Elizabeth M. Harper (Liz) is an evolutionary biologist known for her work on molluscs. She is an honorary fellow of the British Antarctic Survey and was accorded the title of Honorary Professor by the University of Cambridge in 2019.

Contents

Education and career

Harper was born in Ipswich, Suffolk.[ citation needed ] She has a B.A. (and M.A Cantab) from the University of Cambridge and earned her doctorate from the Open University. [1] As of 2021, Harper is a professor at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Gonville and Caius college. [2] Harper has used the collections at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences for her research, and she was made an honorary curator of the invertebrate paleontology in 2004, and has twice served as acting director of the museum. [3] In 2019, the University of Cambridge bestowed the title of Honorary Professor of Evolutionary Malacology on Harper. [4]

As of June 2023, Harper is the Director of Studies in Earth Sciences, as well as a College Lecturer, [5] at Gonville and Caius college.

Research

Harper's research focuses on molluscan biology and biomineralization. Her early research used genome size in living organisms to infer genome size in fossils. [6] She has subsequently examined the process of biomineralization, [7] or how bivalves make cement, [8] [9] how pteropods repair their shells, [10] and the factors controlling the shape of shells in blue mussels [11] and oysters. [12] She has defined the factors controlling feeding on molluscs by examining drilling into shells, [13] [14] and worked on a collaborative project that considered multiple areas of research to define the origins of bivalves. [15] Harper's research includes investigations into how different species of molluscs may respond to future changes in water chemistry, [16] [17] most recently revealing how brachiopods are able to alter the thickness of their shell under conditions that would lead to increased dissolution of their shells. [18]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

In 1990, Harper received the President's Award from the Palaeontological Association. [19] As of 2021, Harper is named an honorary fellow of the British Antarctic Survey. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bivalvia</span> Class of molluscs

Bivalvia or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consisting of a hinged pair of half-shells known as valves. As a group, bivalves have no head and lack some typical molluscan organs such as the radula and the odontophore. Their gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scallop</span> Common name for several shellfish, many edible

Scallop is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families within the superfamily Pectinoidea, which also includes the thorny oysters.

<i>Mytilopsis sallei</i> Species of bivalve

Mytilopsis sallei, the black-striped mussel, is a small marine bivalve mollusc in the family Dreissenidae, the false mussels.

Freshwater bivalves are molluscs of the order Bivalvia that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. They are one of the two main groups of freshwater molluscs, along with freshwater snails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siphonal canal</span> Anatomical structure of certain sea snails

The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is drawn into the mantle cavity and over the gill and which serves as a chemoreceptor to locate food. Siphonal canals allow for active transport of water to sensory organs inside the shell. Organisms without siphonal canals in their shells rely on passive or diffuse transport or water into their shell. Those with siphonal canals have a direct inhalant stream of water that interacts with sensory organs to detect concentration and direction of a stimulus, such as food or mates. In certain groups of carnivorous snails, where the siphon is particularly long, the structure of the shell has been modified in order to house and protect the soft structure of the siphon. Thus the siphonal canal is a semi-tubular extension of the aperture of the shell through which the siphon is extended when the animal is active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcite sea</span> Sea chemistry favouring low-magnesium calcite as the inorganic calcium carbonate precipitate

A calcite sea is a sea in which low-magnesium calcite is the primary inorganic marine calcium carbonate precipitate. An aragonite sea is the alternate seawater chemistry in which aragonite and high-magnesium calcite are the primary inorganic carbonate precipitates. The Early Paleozoic and the Middle to Late Mesozoic oceans were predominantly calcite seas, whereas the Middle Paleozoic through the Early Mesozoic and the Cenozoic are characterized by aragonite seas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucinidae</span> Family of bivalves

Lucinidae, common name hatchet shells, is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesozoic marine revolution</span> Rapid adaption to shell-crushing and boring predation in benthic organisms in the Mesozoic era

The Mesozoic marine revolution (MMR) refers to the increase in shell-crushing (durophagous) and boring predation in benthic organisms throughout the Mesozoic era, along with bulldozing and sediment remodelling in marine habitats. The term was first coined by Geerat J. Vermeij, who based his work on that of Steven M. Stanley. While the MMR was initially restricted to the Cretaceous, more recent studies have suggested that the beginning of this ecological/evolutionary arms race extends as far back as the Triassic, with the MMR now being considered to have started in the Anisian or the Aalenian. It is an important transition between the Palaeozoic evolutionary fauna and the Modern evolutionary fauna that occurred throughout the Mesozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strophomenida</span> Extinct order of brachiopods

Strophomenida is an extinct order of articulate brachiopods which lived from the lower Ordovician period to the mid Carboniferous period. Strophomenida is part of the extinct class Strophomenata, and was the largest known order of brachiopods, encompassing over 400 genera. Some of the largest and heaviest known brachiopod species belong to this class. Strophomenids were among the most diverse and abundant brachiopods during the Ordovician, but their diversity was strongly impacted at the Late Ordovician mass extinction. Survivors rediversified into new morphologies in the Silurian, only to be impacted once again at the Late Devonian mass extinction. However, they still survived till the end of the Permian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mollusc shell</span> Exoskeleton of an animal in the phylum Mollusca

The molluscshell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes. Not all shelled molluscs live in the sea; many live on the land and in freshwater.

The small shelly fauna, small shelly fossils (SSF), or early skeletal fossils (ESF) are mineralized fossils, many only a few millimetres long, with a nearly continuous record from the latest stages of the Ediacaran to the end of the Early Cambrian Period. They are very diverse, and there is no formal definition of "small shelly fauna" or "small shelly fossils". Almost all are from earlier rocks than more familiar fossils such as trilobites. Since most SSFs were preserved by being covered quickly with phosphate and this method of preservation is mainly limited to the late Ediacaran and early Cambrian periods, the animals that made them may actually have arisen earlier and persisted after this time span.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mollusca</span> Phylum of invertebrate animals

Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks. Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The number of additional fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000, and the proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brachiopod</span> Phylum of marine animals also known as lamp shells

Brachiopods, phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection. Two major categories are traditionally recognized, articulate and inarticulate brachiopods. The word "articulate" is used to describe the tooth-and-groove structures of the valve-hinge which is present in the articulate group, and absent from the inarticulate group. This is the leading diagnostic skeletal feature, by which the two main groups can be readily distinguished as fossils. Articulate brachiopods have toothed hinges and simple, vertically oriented opening and closing muscles. Conversely, inarticulate brachiopods have weak, untoothed hinges and a more complex system of vertical and oblique (diagonal) muscles used to keep the two valves aligned. In many brachiopods, a stalk-like pedicle projects from an opening near the hinge of one of the valves, known as the pedicle or ventral valve. The pedicle, when present, keeps the animal anchored to the seabed but clear of sediment which would obstruct the opening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of brachiopods</span> The origin and diversification of brachiopods through geologic time

The origin of the brachiopods is uncertain; they either arose from reduction of a multi-plated tubular organism, or from the folding of a slug-like organism with a protective shell on either end. Since their Cambrian origin, the phylum rose to a Palaeozoic dominance, but dwindled during the Mesozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic scallop</span> Genus of bivalves

The Antarctic scallop is a species of bivalve mollusc in the large family of scallops, the Pectinidae. It was thought to be the only species in the genus Adamussium until an extinct Pliocene species was described in 2016. Its exact relationship to other members of the Pectinidae is unclear. It is found in the ice-cold seas surrounding Antarctica, sometimes at great depths.

Laternula elliptica is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Laternulidae, the lantern shells. It is the largest bivalve found under the surface of the seabed in the Southern Ocean.

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2019.

Galeommatoidea a superfamily of bivalves classified in the monotypic order Galeommatida.

This list of fossil molluscs described in 2023 is a list of new taxa of fossil molluscs that were described during the year 2023, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to molluscan paleontology that occurred in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Professor Liz Harper". Caius College Website. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "Professor Elizabeth Harper". 24 January 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences - News 2017". www.sedgwickmuseum.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Notices by the General Board - Cambridge University Reporter 6562". www.admin.cam.ac.uk. Vol. 4, no. 6562. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Professor Liz Harper". Gonville & Caius. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Conway Morris, S.; Harper, E. (2 September 1988). "Genome Size in Conodonts (Chordata): Inferred Variations During 270 Million Years". Science. 241 (4870): 1230–1232. Bibcode:1988Sci...241.1230C. doi:10.1126/science.241.4870.1230. PMID   17740786. S2CID   11800570.
  7. ↑ Harper, E. M. (2000). "Are calcitic layers an effective adaptation against shell dissolution in the Bivalvia?". Journal of Zoology. 251 (2): 179–186. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00602.x. ISSN   1469-7998.
  8. ↑ HARPER, ELIZABETH M. (1992). "Post-Larval Cementation in the Ostreidae and ITS Implications for Other Cementing Bivalvia". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 58 (1): 37–47. doi:10.1093/mollus/58.1.37. ISSN   0260-1230.
  9. ↑ HARPER, E. M (1991). "The role of predation in the evolution of cementation in bivalves". The Role of Predation in the Evolution of Cementation in Bivalves. 34 (2): 455–460. ISSN   0031-0239.
  10. ↑ Peck, Victoria L.; Oakes, Rosie L.; Harper, Elizabeth M.; Manno, Clara; Tarling, Geraint A. (2018). "Pteropods counter mechanical damage and dissolution through extensive shell repair". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 264. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9..264P. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02692-w. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   5772362 . PMID   29343708.
  11. ↑ Telesca, Luca; Michalek, Kati; Sanders, Trystan; Peck, Lloyd S.; Thyrring, Jakob; Harper, Elizabeth M. (2018). "Blue mussel shell shape plasticity and natural environments: a quantitative approach". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 2865. arXiv: 1802.04532 . Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.2865T. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20122-9. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   5809382 . PMID   29434221.
  12. ↑ Checa, Antonio G.; Harper, Elizabeth M.; González-Segura, Alicia (2018). "Structure and crystallography of foliated and chalk shell microstructures of the oyster Magallana: the same materials grown under different conditions". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 7507. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.7507C. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25923-6. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   5951953 . PMID   29760483.
  13. ↑ Harper, Elizabeth M.; Forsythe, Graham T. W.; Palmer, Tim (1998). "Taphonomy and the Mesozoic Marine Revolution: Preservation State Masks the Importance of Boring Predators". PALAIOS. 13 (4): 352. Bibcode:1998Palai..13..352H. doi:10.2307/3515323. ISSN   0883-1351. JSTOR   3515323.
  14. ↑ Harper, Elizabeth M. (5 December 2003). "Assessing the importance of drilling predation over the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Drilling Predation in the Fossil Record. 201 (3): 185–198. Bibcode:2003PPP...201..185H. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(03)00624-2. ISSN   0031-0182.
  15. ↑ Bieler, Rüdiger; Mikkelsen, Paula M.; Collins, Timothy M.; Glover, Emily A.; González, Vanessa L.; Graf, Daniel L.; Harper, Elizabeth M.; Healy, John; Kawauchi, Gisele Y.; Sharma, Prashant P.; Staubach, Sid (2014). "Investigating the Bivalve Tree of Life – an exemplar-based approach combining molecular and novel morphological characters". Invertebrate Systematics. 28 (1): 32. doi: 10.1071/IS13010 . ISSN   1445-5226. S2CID   84568643.
  16. ↑ Harper, E. M.; Palmer, T. J.; Alphey, J. R. (1997). "RAPID COMMUNICATION Evolutionary response by bivalves to changing Phanerozoic sea-water chemistry". Geological Magazine. 134 (3): 403–407. doi:10.1017/S0016756897007061. ISSN   1469-5081. S2CID   140646397.
  17. ↑ Cross, Emma L.; Peck, Lloyd S.; Harper, Elizabeth M. (1 January 2015). "Ocean acidification does not impact shell growth or repair of the Antarctic brachiopod Liothyrella uva (Broderip, 1833)". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 462: 29–35. Bibcode:2015JEMBE.462...29C. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2014.10.013. ISSN   0022-0981.
  18. ↑ Cross, Emma L.; Harper, Elizabeth M.; Peck, Lloyd S. (7 May 2019). "Thicker Shells Compensate Extensive Dissolution in Brachiopods under Future Ocean Acidification". Environmental Science & Technology. 53 (9): 5016–5026. Bibcode:2019EnST...53.5016C. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b00714. ISSN   0013-936X. PMID   30925214. S2CID   88481149.
  19. ↑ "Medal and Award Winners List | The Palaeontological Association". www.palass.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Elizabeth Harper, Author at British Antarctic Survey". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
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