Thomas Cullen, PhD, FRCGS

Thomas Cullen, PhD, FRCGS

  • Assistant Professor of Paleobiology (Dept. of Geosciences)
  • Curator of Paleontology (Auburn University Museum of Natural History)
  • Geosciences
    • tmc0093@auburn.edu
    Rm. 1244, Building B, STEM-AG Complex
    Google Scholar
    Research Website

    Dr. Thomas Cullen is an Assistant Professor and Curator at Auburn University, where he performs research on the ecology, evolution, and environments of extinct organisms, with a particular focus on understanding how terrestrial and coastal ecosystems respond to environmental disruptions under greenhouse conditions. He obtained his BSc and MSc in Earth Sciences at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada), then completed a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada). Following this, he worked in postdoctoral positions at the Field Museum in Chicago, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship based at Carleton University in Ottawa. In addition to research, he teaches courses and supervises students, is involved in museum curation and collections, has advised on the development of museum exhibitions and tv documentaries, and is involved in ongoing community science programs and outreach initiatives.

    Education

    • PhD Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto 2017

    • MSc Earth Sciences Carleton University 2012

    • BSc Earth Sciences Carleton University 2010

    Professional Experience

    2023-Present Assistant Professor, Auburn University
    2021-2022 NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Carleton University
    2020 Postdoctoral Scholar, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
    2018-2019 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Field Museum of Natural History

    Innovation

    My research uses fossil and extant data from multiple spatiotemporal scales to understand ecosystem structure and interactions, the autecology and life history of the organisms within these systems, how they respond to environmental changes, and how these factors influenced macroevolutionary and biodiversity patterns in deep time contexts. The broader goals of my research are to understand the roles that major environmental perturbations have in restructuring ecosystems and biodiversity, both as it occurred in the past, and also using these deep-time data to better predict how ecosystems respond to similar pressures in modern systems. For my research, I use a combination of approaches, both field- and lab-based, including geochemical analyses, osteohistology, multivariate statistics & quantitative biodiversity metrics, sedimentology & stratigraphy, morphometrics & taxonomy, and modern analogue ecological surveys.

    Engagement

    I am primarily involved in outreach activities through the Department of Geosciences and the Auburn University Museum of Natural History. I have worked as a technical advisor and content developer for multiple natural history exhibitions. These include components of my work as a postdoc at the Field Museum of Natural History, where I was one of the primary advisors on the permanent 'SUE the T. rex' exhibit and the traveling version of the same exhibit. I also played additional advisory roles on some of the updates to the Field Museum permanent fossil gallery (Evolving Planet), and several mini-exhibits and teacher-kits. Since leaving the Field Museum, I've also played smaller advisory roles or contributed content to exhibits at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Royal British Columbia Museum. I have also acted as a consultant on nature/science documentaries, including the PBS series "Prehistoric Road Trip". Since 2020, I've been involved in a major public science education program called Cretaceous Creatures (https://cretaceouscreatures.org), run through the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This program provides opportunities for middle school classes to work with fossils, collect scientific data, and complete earth sciences lesson plans. Lastly, I have been involved with several initiatives focused on performing in-person science education, outreach, and knowledge sharing in remote First Nations and Northern communities (including 'Science Travels', 'Let's Talk Science', and smaller/local field-research associated activities).

    Selected Publications

    1. Cullen, T.M. and Cousens, B.L., 2024. New biogeochemical insights into Mesozoic terrestrial paleoecology and evidence for omnivory in troodontid dinosaurs. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 136(7-8), pp.2689-2701.
    2. Cullen, T.M., Larson, D.W., Witton, M.P., Scott, D., Maho, T., Brink, K.S., Evans, D.C. and Reisz, R., 2023. Theropod dinosaur facial reconstruction and the importance of soft tissues in paleobiology. Science, 379(6639), pp.1348-1352.
    3. Cullen, T.M., Longstaffe, F.J., Wortmann, U.G., Huang, L. and Evans, D.C., 2023. Anomalous 13C enrichment in Mesozoic vertebrate enamel reflects environmental conditions in a “vanished world” and not a unique dietary physiology. Paleobiology, pp.1-15.
    4. Nanglu, K. and Cullen, T.M., 2023. Across space and time: a review of sampling, preservational, analytical, and anthropogenic biases in fossil data across macroecological scales. Earth-Science Reviews, 244, p.104537.
    5. Nanglu, K., de Carle, D., Cullen, T.M., Anderson, E.B., Arif, S., Castañeda, R.A., Chang, L.M., Iwama, R.E., Fellin, E., Manglicmot, R.C. and Massey, M.D., 2023. The nature of science: The fundamental role of natural history in ecology, evolution, conservation, and education. Ecology and Evolution, 13(10), p.e10621.
    6. Cullen, T.M., Zhang, S., Spencer, J. and Cousens, B., 2022. Sr‐O‐C isotope signatures reveal herbivore niche‐partitioning in a Cretaceous ecosystem. Palaeontology, 65(2), p.e12591
    7. Cullen, T.M., Brown, C.M., Chiba, K., Brink, K.S., Makovicky, P.J. and Evans, D.C., 2021. Growth variability, dimensional scaling, and the interpretation of osteohistological growth data. Biology Letters, 17(11).
    8. Cullen, T.M., Longstaffe, F.J., Wortmann, U.G., Huang, L., Fanti, F., Goodwin, M.B., Ryan, M.J. and Evans, D.C., 2020. Large-scale stable isotope characterization of a Late Cretaceous dinosaur-dominated ecosystem. Geology, 48(6), pp.546-551.
    9. Cullen, T.M., Canale, J.I., Apesteguía, S., Smith, N.D., Hu, D. and Makovicky, P.J., 2020. Osteohistological analyses reveal diverse strategies of theropod dinosaur body-size evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287(1939), p.20202258.
    10. Cullen, T.M. and Evans, D.C., 2016. Palaeoenvironmental drivers of vertebrate community composition in the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada, with implications for dinosaur biogeography. BMC Ecology, 16(1), pp.1-35.