Bruce S. Lieberman
- Senior Curator, Invertebrate Paleontology Division, Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum
- Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Contact Info
1345 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
Biography —
Dr. Bruce Lieberman is a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist interested in macroevolution and the evolutionary history of invertebrates.
Education —
summa cum laude
Research —
I use various research approaches including phylogenetics, geographic information systems (GIS) and ecological niche modeling (ENM) to study key time periods in the history of life to gain deeper insight into macroevolution. Much of my research has focused on fossil arthropods, especially trilobites, but in collaboration with students and post-docs I have worked with other taxa including mollusks. I am interested in various topics including evolutionary radiations, mass extinctions, the relative roles abiotic and biotic factors play in motivating evolution, macroevolutionary theory, phylogenetic methods and theory, levels of selection, and mechanisms of evolutionary stasis.
Selected Publications —
Books
Lieberman, B. S. Paleontology and the Origin of Species: A Macroevolutionary Synthesis. Oxford University Press, New York. In prep.
Wiley, E. O., and B. S. Lieberman. 2011. Phylogenetics, 2nd edition. J. Wiley & Sons, New York. 432 p.
Lieberman, B. S., and R. A. Kaesler. 2010. Prehistoric Life: Evolution and the Fossil Record. Wiley/Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, UK, 385 p.
Lieberman, B. S., A. Stigall Rode, editors. 2005. Paleobiogeography: Generating New Insights into the Coevolution of the Earth and Its Biota. Paleontological Society Papers 11, Paleontological Society, Lawrence, KS, 158 pp.
Adrain, J., G. D. Edgecombe, and B. S. Lieberman, editors. 2001. Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form: An Analytical Approach. Plenum Press/Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York.
Lieberman, B. S. 2000. Paleobiogeography: Using Fossils to Study Global Change, Plate Tectonics, and Evolution. Plenum Press/Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York.
Special Issues of Journals Edited
Lieberman, B. S., editor. 2012. Biogeography: The Geography of Evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach Vol. 5, #4.
Recent Journal Articles And Book Chapters (*=Monograph)
Pates, S., Daley, A. C., Edgecombe, G. D., Cong, P., and Lieberman, B. S.2019. Systematics, preservation and biogeography of radiodonts from the southern Great Basin, USA, during the Upper Dyeran (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4). Papers in Palaeontology.
Kimmig, J., Couto, H., Leibach, W. W., and Lieberman, B. S. 2019. Soft-bodied fossils from the upper Valongo Formation (Middle Ordovician: Dapingian-Darriwilian) of northern Portugal. The Science of Nature 106:27.
Tang, Q., Hu, J., Xie, G., Yuan, X, Wan, B., Zhou, C., Dong, X., Cao, G., Lieberman, B. S., Leys, S. P., and Xiao, S. 2019. A problematic animal fossil from the early Cambrian Hetang Formation, South China. Journal of Paleontology
Kolis, K. C., and Lieberman, B. S. 2019. Using GIS to examine biogeographic and macroevolutionary patterns in some late Paleozoic cephalopods from the North American Midcontinent Sea. PeerJ 7:e6910.
Kimmig, J., Strotz, L. C., Kimmig, S. R., Egenhoff, S. O., and Lieberman, B. S. 2019. The Spece Shale Lagerstätte: an Important Window into Cambrian Biodiversity. Journal of the Geological Society of London 176:609–619.
Kimmig, J., Meyer, R. C., and Lieberman, B. S. 2019. Herpetogaster from the early Cambrian of Nevada (Series 2, Stage 4) and its implications for the evolution of deuterostomes. Geological Magazine 156:172–178.
Strotz, L. C., Saupe, E. E., Kimmig, J., and Lieberman, B. S.2018. Metabolic rates, climate and macroevolution: A case study using Neogene molluscs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285:20181292.
Lieberman, B. S., and Kimmig, J. 2018. Museums, Paleontology, and a Biodiversity Science Based Approach. In G. D. Rosenberg, & R. M. Clary (Eds.), Museums at the Forefront of the History and Philosophy of Geology: History Made, History in the Making. Geological Society of America Special Paper 535:335–348.
Strotz, L. C., Simões, M., Girard, M., Breitkreuz, L., Kimmig, J., and Lieberman, B. S. 2018. Getting Somewhere with the Red Queen: Chasing a Biologically Modern Definition of the Hypothesis. Biology Letters 14:20170734.
Pates, S., Daley, A. C., and Lieberman, B. S. 2018. Hurdiid radiodontans from the Middle Cambrian of Utah. Journal of Paleontology 92:99–113.
Melott, A. L., Pivuranas, A., Meert, J. G., and Lieberman, B. S. 2018. Does the planetary dynamo go cycling on? Re-examining the evidence for cycles in magnetic reversal rate. International Journal of Astrobiology 17:44-50.
Evans, K. R., McKenna III, L. W., Lieberman, B. S., Weichert, W.D., and MacLeod, K.G. 2018. Geology of the Nelson Limestone, Postel Nunatak, Patuxent Range, Antarctica. Antarctic Science 30: 29–43.
Simões, M. V., Lieberman, B. S., Soberón, J., and Townsend Peterson, A. 2017. Testing environmental correlates of clines in clades: an example from cassidine beetles. Insect Conservation and Diversity 10: 472–482.
Kimmig, J., Strotz, L. C., and Lieberman, B. S. 2017. The stalked filter feeder Siphusauctum lloydguntheri n. sp. from the middle Cambrian (Series 3: Stage 5) Spence Shale of Utah: Its biological affinities and taphonomy. Journal of Paleontology 91:902-910. DOI://10.1017/jpa.2017.57
Lieberman, B. S., Kurkewicz, R., Shinogle, H. , Kimmig, J., and MacGabhann, B.A. 2017. Disc-shaped fossils resembling porpitids or eldonids from the early Cambrian (Series 2: Stage 4) of western U.S.A. PeerJ 5:e3312
Lieberman, B. S. 2016. Pattern versus processes and hierarchies: Revisiting eternal metamorphs in macroevolutionary theory. In N. Eldrege, T. Pievani, E. Serrelli, & I. Temkin (Eds.), Evolutionary Theory: A Hierachical Perspective. University of Chicago Press. (p. 29–46). University of Chicago Press.
Lieberman, B. S., and Saupe, E. E. 2016. Palaeoniches get stiches: analyses of niches informing macroevolutionary theory. Lethaia 49: 149–159.
Simöes, M., Breitkreuz, L., Alvarada, M., Baca, S., Cooper, J. C., Heins, L., Herzog, K., and Lieberman, B.S. 2016. The evolving theory of evolutionary radiations. Trends in Ecologo & Evolution (TREE) 31: 21–34.
Hendricks, J. R., Stigall, A. L., and Lieberman, B. S. 2015. The Digital Atlas of Ancient Life: delivering information on paleontology and biogeography via the web. Paleontologica Electronica 18: (2.3E).
Saupe, E. E., Qiao, H. Hendricks, J. R., Portell, R. W., Hunter, S. J., Soberon, J., and Lieberman, B. S. 2015. Estimating extinction risk as a function of niche breadth and geographic range size: a case study ysing Pliocene–recent Atlantic Coastel Plain mollusks. Global Ecology and Biogeography 24: 1159–1169.
Myers, C. E., Stigall, A. L., and Lieberman, B. S. 2015. PaleoENM: Applying ecological niche modeling to the fossil record. Paleobiology 41(2): 226–244.
Casey, M. M., and Lieberman, B. S. 2014. Beyond Memorization: An Intermediate-level Paleontology Activity That Integrates Anatomy, Ecology, and Macroevolutionary Theory Using Trilobites. Evolution and Outreach 7(20): 1–10.
Saupe, E. E., J. R. Hendricks, R. W. Portell, H. J. Dowsett, A. Haywood, S. Hunter, and B. S. Lieberman. 2014. Macroevolutionary consequences of climate change on niche evolution in marine mollusks over the past three million years. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281, 20141995.
Gapp, I. W., and B. S. Lieberman. 2014. New Olenelloid trilobites from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Zootaxa. 3866(4): 479–498.
Lieberman, B. S., and N. Eldredge. 2014. What is punctuated equilibrium? What is macroevolution. Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TREE) 29:185-186.
Saupe, E. E., J. R. Hendricks, A. T. Peterson, and B. S. Lieberman. 2014. Climate change and marine molluscs of the western North Atlantic: future prospects and perils. Journal of Biogeography 41: 1352–1366.
Lieberman, B. S., and A. L. Melott. 2013. Declining volatility, a general property of disparate systems: from fossils, to stocks, to the stars. Palaeontology 56:1297-1304.
Álvaro, J. Javier, P. Ahlberg, L. E. Babcock, O. L. Bordonaro, D. K. Choi, R. A. Cooper, G. K. Ergaliev, I. W. Gapp, M. G. Pour, N. C. Hughes, J. B. Jago, I. Korovnikov, J. R. Laurie, B. S. Lieberman, J. R. Paterson, T. V. Pegel, L. E. Popov, A. W. A. Rushton, M. F. Tortello, Z. Zhou, and A. Zylinska. 2013. Global Cambrian trilobite paleobiogeography assessed using Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity. Geological Society of London, Memoir Series: 38:273-296. Early Palaeozoic Biogeography and Palaeogeography, D. Harper and T. Servais (eds.).
Myers, C. E., R. A. MacKenzie III, and B. S. Lieberman. 2013. A GIS approach to studying greenhouse biogeography: invasion and extinction in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. Paleobiology 39:135-148.
Gapp, I. W., C. R. Congreve, and B. S. Lieberman. 2012. Unraveling the phylogenetic relationships of the Eccoptochilinae, an enigmatic array of Ordovician cheirurid trilobites. PLoS One 7(11): e49115.
Lieberman, B. S. 2012. The geography of evolution and the evolution of geography. Evolution Education and Outreach 5:521-525.
Lieberman, B. S. 2012. Adaptive radiations in the context of macroevolutionary theory: a paleontological perspective. Evolutionary Biology 39:181-191.
Peterson, A. T., and B. S. Lieberman. 2012. Species’ geographic distributions through time: playing catchup with changing climates. Evolution Education and Outreach 5:569-581.
Marshall, A. Olcott, R. L. Wehrbein, B. S. Lieberman, and C. P. Marshall. 2012. Raman spectroscopic investigations of Burgess Shale-type preservation: a new way forward. Palaios 27:288-292.
Abe, F. R, and B. S. Lieberman. 2012. Quantifying morphological change during an evolutionary radiation of Devonian trilobites. Paleobiology 38(2):292-307.
Lieberman, B. S., and A. L. Melott. 2012. Whilst this planet goes cycling on: What role for periodic astronomical phenomena in large scale patterns in the history of life? Pp. 37-50 in J. Talent (Ed.), Earth and Life: Global Biodiversity, Extinction Intervals, and Biogeographic Perturbations Through Time, International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, Berlin.
Lieberman, B. S., and P. Cartwright. 2011. Macroevolutionary patterns and processes during the Cambrian radiation: Integrating evidence from fossils and molecules. Açoreana 7:15-38.
Congreve, C. R., and B. S. Lieberman. 2011. Phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of sphaerexochine trilobites. PloS One 6:e21304.
Lieberman, B. S. 2011. Presentation of the 2008 Paleontological Society Medal to Niles Eldredge. Journal of Paleontology 85:806.
Gapp, I. W., B. S. Lieberman, M. C. Pope, and K. Dilliard. 2011. New olenelline trilobites from the Northwest Territories, Canada, and the phylogenetic placement of Judomia absita. Zootaxa 2918:15-28.
Myers, C., and B. S. Lieberman. 2011. Sharks that pass in the night: Using GIS to investigate competition in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B. 278:681-689.
Yu-nan, W., Di-ying, H., and B. S. Lieberman. 2010. New Isoxys (Arthropoda) from the Cambrian Mantou Formation, Shandong Province. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica 49:398-406.
Abe, F. R., B. S. Lieberman, M. C. Pope, and K. Dilliard. 2010. New information on olenelline trilobites from the Early Cambrian Sekwi Formation, northwestern Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 47:1445-1449.
Lieberman, B. S., and T. S. Karim. 2010. Tracing the trilobite tree from the root to the tips: a model marriage of fossils and phylogeny. Arthropod Structure & Development 39:111-123.
Abe, F. R., and B. S. Lieberman. 2009. The Nature of evolutionary radiations: A case study involving Devonian trilobites. Evolutionary Biology 36:225-234.
Moore, R. A., and B. S. Lieberman. 2009. Preservation of Early and Middle Cambrian soft-bodied arthropods from the Pioche Shale, Nevada, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 277:57-62.
Hendricks, J. R., B. S. Lieberman, and A. L. Stigall. 2008. Using GIS to study the paleobiogeography of soft-bodied Cambrian arthropods. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, and Palaeoecology 264:163-175.
Creative Works —
The History of Life: A Brief Survey. 2012-Present
Trilobites: Extinct Evolutionary Marvels. 2011-Present
Awards & Honors —
Present Fellow of the Paleontological Society
2005
Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society to a paleontologist under 40 whose research and career demonstrates excellence and promise
2002
Paleontological Society distinguished lecturer
2000-2003
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Cretaceous World: Digitizing Fossils to Reconstruct Evolving Ecosystems in the Western Interior Seaway. NSF Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections. $519,636. (7/1/2016 - 6/30/2020). Federal. Status: Funded. KU is the lead institution and I am the lead PI, with co-PIs at KU Jim Beach and Chris Beard and co-PIs at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Laurie Anderson and Maribeth Price, along with collaborators at American Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University/Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Paleontological Research Institution, University of Colorado, University of New Mexico, University of Texas, and Yale University; $2,100,000 total, with $519,636 to KU
Integrating fossil data into likelihood-based phylogenetic analyses with trilobites as a model system. NSF Systematic Biology. $448,665. (1/1/2013 - 9/30/2019). Federal. Status: Funded
Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: Digitizing Fossils to Enable New Syntheses in Biogeography- Creating a PALEONICHES-TCN. NSF Emerging Frontiers, Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections. $600,000. (1/1/2012 - 6/30/2019). Federal. Status: Funded. Lieberman is the lead PI, with co-PIs at KU Una Farrell and Jim Beach and collaborators at San Jose State and Ohio University; $950,000 total, with $600,000 to KU
Revisionary systematics of Cheirurid trilobites. NSF Systematic Biology RevSys. $213,000. (1/1/2007 - 12/31/2013). Federal. Status: Funded. $450,000 total, with $213,000 to KU
Archiving the history of life: High-density storage to solve space needs for an invertebrate paleontology research and teaching collection. NSF DBI. $251,708. (1/1/2004 - 12/31/2010). Federal. Status: Funded
An integrative paleontological and paleoenvironmental study of the Middle Cambrian Spence, Wheeler, and Marjum soft-bodied faunas of Utah. NSF Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology. $110,000. (1/1/2005 - 12/31/2008). Federal. Status: Funded. $250,000 total, with $110,000 to KU
Did a gamma ray burst cause the late Ordovician mass extinction?. NASA Exobiology. $417,552. (1/1/2004 - 12/31/2007). Federal. Status: Funded
Self Faculty Scholar Award. KU Endowment Association. $150,000. (1/1/2003 - 12/31/2006). University (KU or KUMC). Status: Funded
A Sequence, Chemo-, and Biostratigraphic Study of Late Early Cambrian Rocks, Southern Selwyn Basin, Mackenzie Mountains, N.W.T., Canada. NSF Geology and Paleontology. $117,000. (1/1/2001 - 12/31/2005). Federal. Status: Funded. $212,000 total, with $117,000 to KU
Assessing the Long-Term Effects of Invasive Species Using the Fossil Record. NSF EPSCoR First Award. $35,000. (1/1/2000 - 12/31/2003). Federal. Status: Funded
Characterization of the Fauna of the Middle Cambrian Nelson Limestone: A Fauna of Relevance to Antarctic Geology. NSF-OPP Antarctic Geology and Geophysics. $60,000. (1/1/2000 - 12/31/2003). Federal. Status: Funded
Early Cambrian Climate and Evolution. National Geographic. $20,000. (1/1/2001 - 12/31/2002). Not-for-Profit (not Foundation). Status: Funded
Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Earth Sciences. National Science Foundation. $72,000. (1/1/1995 - 12/31/1997). Federal. Status: Funded