51cg

People

Dr Catherine Sheard

Dr Catherine Sheard
Dr Catherine Sheard
Dr Catherine Sheard

Interdisciplinary Fellow

Accepting PhDs

51cg
School/Department
School of Biological Sciences

Biography

I am an evolutionary biologist who studies how innovations in behaviour shape trait distributions across broad swaths of space and time, particularly in birds and mammals. I frequently collaborate with linguists and anthropologists to translate methods developed in biology and palaeobiology to the study of human language/cultural evolution, with a particular interest in the relationship between people and their natural environment.

My Google Scholar page can be found and more information about my research can be found .

Qualifications

  • DPhil Zoology 
    2016 - University of Oxford 
  • BS Mathematics, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 
    2012 - Yale University 

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships
  • Member, SBS EDI Committee
  • SBS Research Culture Lead
External Memberships
  • Senior Editor, Global Ecology and Biogeography
  • Chair, BES Macro SIG
  • Diversity Committee Member, American Society of Naturalists
Research

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Biological and Environmental Sciences.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Biological and Environmental Sciences

  • Accepting PhDs
View Research Area
Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

I primarily teach on BI3505: Animal Behaviour and ZO4543: Behavioural Ecology & Conservation, as well as contributing various lectures and practicals in topics across evolution and statistics. I also supervise honours project students.

Publications

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  • Flight style and metabolism shape the tempo of genome evolution in birds

    Ji, Y., Wu, L., Li, D., Feng, S., Fang, Q., Xiong, Y., Chang, Y., Cooper, J. C., Yu, X., Zhang, K., Tang, S., She, H., Wang, H., Zhang, D., Song, G., Fan, P., Zhou, J., Ma, L., Qu, Y., Jia, C., Sheard, C., DeWoody, J. A., Tobias, J. A., Zhang, G., Zhai, W., Lei, F.
    PLoS Biology, vol. 24, no. 7, pp. e3003884
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • The functional significance of striping in rodents

    Caro, T., Gellately, L., Howell, N., Keating, J. N., Sheard, C.
    Evolution, vol. 80, no. 7, pp. 1583-1591
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • AVONICHE: A Global Dataset of Dietary and Foraging Niches for Birds

    Sayol, F., Neate-Clegg, M., Sheard, C., Pigot, A. L., Tobias, J. A.
    Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 35, no. 1, e70197
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification

    Claramunt, S., Sheard, C., Brown, J. W., Cortés-Ramírez, G., Cracraft, J., Su, M. M., Weeks, B. C., Tobias, J. A.
    Current Biology, vol. 35, no. 16, pp. 3883-3895
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Global incidence of female birdsong is predicted by territoriality and biparental care in songbirds

    Odom, K. J., Salas, M. A., Benedict, L., Lim, K., Dale, J., Webb, W. H., Sheard, C., Tobias, J. A., Ball, G. F., Hall, M. L., Langmore, N. E., Webster, M. S., Riebel, K.
    Nature Communications, vol. 16, 6157
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Some birds are left behind in a race to beat the heat

    Sheard, C.
    Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 1092-1093
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Viewing conditions predict evolutionary diversity in avian plumage colour

    Dunning, J., Sheard, C., Endler, J. A.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 292, no. 2044, 20241728
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Longer wing bones in warmer climates suggest a role of thermoregulation in bird wing evolution

    Weeks, B. C., Harvey, C., Tobias, J. A., Sheard, C., Zhou, Z., Fouhey, D. F.
    Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 34, no. 4, e70033
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Anthropogenic nest material use in a global sample of birds

    Sheard, C., Stott, L., Street, S. E., Healy, S. D., Sugasawa, S., Lala, K. N.
    Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 93, no. 6, pp. 691-704
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • The Evolution of Rodent Tail Morphology

    Sheard, C., Skinner, N., Caro, T.
    American Naturalist, vol. 203, no. 6, pp. 629-643
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Primate coloration and colour vision: a comparative approach

    Macdonald, R. x., Sheard, C., Howell, N., Caro, T.
    Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 141, no. 3, pp. 435-455
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Limited ecological opportunity influences the tempo of morphological evolution in birds

    Drury, J. P., Clavel, J., Tobias, J. A., Rolland, J., Sheard, C., Morlon, H.
    Current Biology, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 661-669.e4
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Nest traits for the world's birds

    Sheard, C., Street, S. E., Healy, S. D., Troisi, C. A., Clark, A. D., Yovcheva, A., Trebaol, A., Vanadzina, K., Lala, K. N.
    Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 206-214
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The evolution of enclosed nesting in passerines is shaped by competition, energetic costs, and predation threat

    Vanadzina, K., Street, S. e., Sheard, C.
    Ornithology, vol. 141, no. 1, ukad048
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Nest architecture influences host use by avian brood parasites and is shaped by coevolutionary dynamics

    Hauber, M. E., Nagy, J., Sheard, C., Antonson, N. D., Street, S. E., Healy, S. D., Lala, K. N., Mainwaring, M. C.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 291, no. 2014, 20231734
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • The macroevolutionary dynamics of mammalian sexual size dimorphism

    Megan E, J., Sheard, C.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 290, no. 2011
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Beak shape and nest material use in birds

    Sheard, C., Street, S. E., Evans, C., Lala, K. N., Healy, S. D., Sugasawa, S.
    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 378, no. 1884, 20220147
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Evolution of nest architecture in tyrant flycatchers and allies

    Ocampo, D., De Silva, T. N., Sheard, C., Stoddard, M. C.
    Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, vol. 378, no. 1884, 20220148
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Kinbank: A global database of kinship terminology

    Passmore, S., Barth, W., Greenhill, S. J., Quinn, K., Sheard, C., Argyriou, P., Birchall, J., Bowern, C., Calladine, J., Deb, A., Diederen, A., Metsäranta, N. P., Araujo, L. H., Schembri, R., Hickey-Hall, J., Honkola, T., Mitchell, A., Poole, L., Rácz, P. M., Roberts, S. G., Ross, R. M., Thomas-Colquhoun, E., Evans, N., Jordan, F. M.
    PloS ONE, vol. 18, no. 5, e0283218
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Global drivers of variation in cup nest size in passerine birds

    Vanadzina, K., Street, S. E., Healy, S. D., Laland, K. N., Sheard, C.
    Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 338-351
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Deterministic assembly and anthropogenic extinctions drive convergence of island bird communities

    Triantis, K. a., Rigal, F., Whittaker, R. j., Hume, J. p., Sheard, C., Poursanidis, D., Rolland, J., Sfenthourakis, S., Matthews, T. j., Thébaud, C., Tobias, J. a.
    Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 1741-1755
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Morphological adaptations linked to flight efficiency and aerial lifestyle determine natal dispersal distance in birds

    Weeks, B. c., Claramunt, S., Sheard, C., Tobias, J. A., O'Brien, B. K., Chu, J. J.
    Functional Ecology, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 1681-1689
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Avonet: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

    Tobias, J. A., Sheard, C., Pigot, A. L., Yang, J., Sayol, F., Alioravainen, N., Barber, R. A., Walkden, P. A., MacGregor, H. E. A., Jones, S. E. I., Vincent, C., Marples, N. M., Claramunt, S., Darski, B., Bregman, T. P., Hughes, E. C., Capp, E. J. R., Varley, Z. K., Friedman, N. R., Korntheuer, H., Trisos, C. H., Weeks, B. C., Hanz, D. M., Töpfer, T., Remeš, V., Nowak, L., Matysioková, B., Daly, B. G., Sorensen, M. C., Ford, M. A., Kelly, D. J., Annorbah, N. N. D., McEntee, J. P., Jamie, G. A., Zyskowski, K., Crates, R., Hosner, P. A., Stiles, F. G., Chibesa, M., Mashao, M., Mlamba, E., Päckert, M., Derryberry, E. P., Urriza, R. C., Brzeski, K. E., Prawiradilaga, D. M., Rayner, M. J., Bowie, R. C. K., Lafontaine, R., Scofield, R. P., Somarathna, L., Lepage, D., Illif, M., Neuschulz, E. L., Templin, M., Dehling, D. M., Pauwels, O. S. G., Analuddin, K., Fjeldså, J., Seddon, N., Sweet, P. R., Naka, L. N., Aleixo, A., Böhning-Gaese, K., Rahbek, C., Thomas, G. H., Schleuning, M., Devenish, A. J. M., Neate-Clegg, M. H. C., Weeks, T. L., Phillips, A. G., Montaño-Centellas, F. A., Leandro-Silva, V., Freeman, B. G., Cooney, C. R., Corrales-Vargas, A., Bravo, G. A., Carneiro, L. S., Moncada R., A. J., Baldassarre, D. T., Martínez-Salinas, A., Wolfe, J. D., Chapman, P. M., Neu, A., Mayhew, R. J., Silveira, L. F., Pollock, H. S., Grabowska-Zhang, A. M., Gonzalez, J. C. T., Meneses, C. G., Muñoz, M. C., Powell, L. L., Matthews, T. J., Johnson, O., Brito, G. R. R., Harvey, M. G., Zevallos, M. J., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., Maley, J. M., Lima, H. S., Provost, K. L., Howard, J. T., Chua, M. A. H., Gómez, M. I., Li, B., García, N. C., Fuchs, J., Ali, J. R., Carlson, M. L., Miller, E. T., Lou, Y., DeClerck, F. A. J., Cooper, J. C., Brawn, J. D., Fritz, S. A.
    Ecology Letters, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 581-597
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The Evolution of Australian Kin Terminologies: Models, Conditions, and Consequences

    Sheard, C., Jordan, F. M.
    Current Anthropology, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 60-61
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Ecological and behavioural drivers of offspring size in marine teleost fishes

    Vanadzina, K., Phillips, A., Martins, B., Laland, K. n., Webster, M. m., Sheard, C.
    Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 30, no. 12, pp. 2407-2419
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Aposematism in mammals

    Howell, N., Sheard, C., Koneru, M., Brockelsby, K., Ono, K., Caro, T.
    Evolution, vol. 75, no. 10, pp. 2480-2493
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Tempo and mode of morphological evolution are decoupled from latitude in birds

    Drury, J. P., Clavel, J., Tobias, J. A., Rolland, J., Sheard, C., Morlon, H.
    PLoS Biology, vol. 19, no. 8, e3001270
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • CHIELD: the causal hypotheses in evolutionary linguistics database

    Roberts, S. g., Killin, A., Deb, A., Sheard, C., Greenhill, S. j., Sinnemäki, K., Segovia-Martín, J., Nölle, J., Berdicevskis, A., Humphreys-Balkwill, A., Little, H., Opie, C., Jacques, G., Bromham, L., Tinits, P., Ross, R. m., Lee, S., Gasser, E., Calladine, J., Spike, M., Mann, S. f., Shcherbakova, O., Singer, R., Zhang, S., Benítez-Burraco, A., Kliesch, C., Thomas-Colquhoun, E., Skirgård, H., Tamariz, M., Passmore, S., Pellard, T., Jordan, F.
    Journal of Language Evolution, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 101-120
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Pama-Nyungan grandparent systems change with grandchildren, but not cross-cousin terms or social norms

    Sheard, C., Bowern, C., Dockum, R., Jordan, F. M.
    Evolutionary Human Sciences, vol. 2, e30
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Ecological drivers of global gradients in avian dispersal inferred from wing morphology

    Sheard, C., Neate-Clegg, M. H., Alioravainen, N., Jones, S. E., Vincent, C., MacGregor, H. E., Bregman, T. P., Claramunt, S., Tobias, J. A.
    Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 2463
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Ecology and allometry predict the evolution of avian developmental durations

    Cooney, C. R., Sheard, C., Clark, A. D., Healy, S. D., Liker, A., Street, S. E., Troisi, C. A., Thomas, G. H., Székely, T., Hemmings, N., Wright, A. E.
    Nature Communications, vol. 11, 2383
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Macroevolutionary convergence connects morphological form to ecological function in birds

    Pigot, A. L., Sheard, C., Miller, E. T., Bregman, T. P., Freeman, B. G., Roll, U., Seddon, N., Trisos, C. H., Weeks, B. C., Tobias, J. A.
    Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 4, pp. 230-239
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Evolution of avian egg shape: underlying mechanisms and the importance of taxonomic scale

    Stoddard, M. c., Sheard, C., Akkaynak, D., Yong, E. h., Mahadevan, L., Tobias, J. a.
    Ibis, vol. 161, no. 4, pp. 922-925
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Usage frequency and lexical class determine the evolution of kinship terms in Indo-European

    Rácz, P., Passmore, S., Sheard, C., Jordan, F. M.
    Royal Society Open Science, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 191385
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Tempo and timing of ecological trait divergence in bird speciation

    McEntee, J. P., Tobias, J. A., Sheard, C., Burleigh, J. G.
    Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 1120-1127
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • The macroecological dynamics of species coexistence in birds

    Pigot, A. L., Jetz, W., Sheard, C., Tobias, J. A.
    Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 1112-1119
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Flight range, fuel load and the impact of climate change on the journeys of migrant birds

    Howard, C., Stephens, P. A., Tobias, J. A., Sheard, C., Butchart, S. H. M., Willis, S. G.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences, vol. 285, no. 1873, 20172329
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Avian egg shape: Form, function, and evolution

    Stoddard, M. C., Yong, E. H., Akkaynak, D., Sheard, C., Tobias, J. A., Mahadevan, L.
    Science, vol. 356, no. 6344, pp. 1249-1254
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Professional medical writing support and the reporting quality of randomized controlled trial abstracts among high-impact general medical journals

    Mills, I., Sheard, C., Hays, M., Douglas, K., Winchester, C. C., Gattrell, W. T.
    F1000Research, vol. 6, pp. 1489
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Quantifying species contributions to ecosystem processes: a global assessment of functional trait and phylogenetic metrics across avian seed-dispersal networks

    Pigot, A. L., Bregman, T., Sheard, C., Daly, B., Etienne, R. S., Tobias, J. A.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences, vol. 283, no. 1844
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Territoriality, Social Bonds, and the Evolution of Communal Signaling in Birds

    Tobias, J. a., Sheard, C., Seddon, N., Meade, A., Cotton, A. j., Nakagawa, S.
    Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 4, 74
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Ecological traits reveal functional nestedness of bird communities in habitat islands: a global survey

    Matthews, T. J., Sheard, C., Cottee-Jones, H. E. W., Bregman, T. P., Tobias, J. A., Whittaker, R. J.
    Oikos, vol. 124, no. 7, pp. 817-826
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
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  • Loan and inheritance patterns in hunter-gatherer ethnobiological systems

    Bowern, C., Haynie, H., Sheard, C., Alpher, B., Epps, P., Hill, J., McConvell, P.
    Journal of Ethnobiology, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 195-227
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]
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