Paleoecology of marine invertebrates, especially the Paleozoic benthos, with emphases on:
Functional Morphology
Biotic Interactions, including Competition and Predation
Animal-Substrate Interactions
Survivorship through Mass Extinctions
Morphological Analysis
Biogeography
Taphonomy
Phylogenetics
Research Projects:
Survivorship through Mass Extinctions
Predation in the Mid-Paleozoic
Latitudinal Diversity Gradient
Selected Publications:
Leighton, L.R. 2004 Are we asking the right question? Palaios. 19:315-316.
Leighton, L.R. 2003 Morphological response of prey to drilling predation in the Middle Devonian. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 201(3-4):221-234.
Leighton, L.R. 2002 Inferring predation intensity from the marine fossil record. Paleobiology. 28:328-342.
Leighton, L.R. 1999 Possible latitudinal predation gradient in middle Paleozoic oceans. Geology. 27(1):47-50.
Leighton, L.R. 1998 Constraining functional hypotheses: controls on the morphology of the concavo-convex brachiopod Rafinesquina. Lethaia. 31(4):293-307.
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