Daniel Caspar Thomas,
Research Interests
I work on the systematics, evolution and historical biogeography of tropical flowering plants with a current taxonomic focus on Annonaceae, Begoniaceae, and Lauraceae. I am interested in the use of dated phylogenies, fossils, palaeogeographic reconstructions and various other disparate data sources to investigate the historical assembly of tropical floras, and the impact of historical processes on current patterns of species distributions and diversity in the Southeast Asian tropics. I dedicate substantial time to field and taxonomic work underpinning this research, including for the Flora of Singapore and Flora Malesiana.
Current Research
1) Phylogenomics of Annonaceae: drivers of tropical rain forest diversity and the impact of future climate change on the tropical rain forest biome.
2) Revisionary work on Goniothalamus and Uvaria (Annonaceae) for the Flora of Singapore.
3) Plastome phylogenetics and historical biogeography of Asian Lauraceae.
4) Revisionary work on Alseodaphne, Dehaasia and Nothaphoebe (Lauraceae) for the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia and Flora of Singapore.
5) A revision of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia.
