Xiao Research Group

Research

Dr. Xiao's research group is interested in how the biosphere and its environments interacted at critical transitions in Earth history. His research group is focused on key evolutionary innovations such as the origin and early diversification of eukaryotes, multicellular organisms, and animals. What was the environmental and ecological context of these evolutionary innovations? How did they impact on the surface environments of the Earth? Through collaboration with other scientists, Dr. Xiao's research group integrates paleobiological, sedimentological, stratigraphic, and geochemical data to answer these questions. Current research projects are focused on the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, although he has worked on older and younger rocks, as well as the taphonomy of exceptionally preserved fossils. Dr. Xiao's main expertise is paleobiology, but he has developed extensive collaborations with geochemists and has employed a diverse range of research tools to solve complex scientific problems.

In 2012-2020, Dr. Xiao served as the chair of the Subcommission on Ediacaran Stratigraphy of the International Commission on Stratigraphy.