Sarah Gabbott

Sarah Gabbott is a palaeobiologist from the University of Leicester.[1] She is known for her research on decomposition and fossilization.[2] Her focus is soft-bodied animals, details of which are often lost during decay.

Sarah Gabbott
Alma mater
Scientific career
Institutions
ThesisThe palaeontology and taphonomy of the Soom Shale : an Upper Ordovician lagerstatte, South Africa. (1996)
Websitehttps://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/geology/people/gabbott-s

Early life and education

Gabbott received an undergraduate degree in geology from the University of Southampton. She went on to receive a doctorate in paleobiology from the University of Leicester on the topic of Soom Shale fossils. She remained at the University of Leicester as a post-doctoral researcher before being appointed lecturer.[3]

Career

Gabbott leads a paleobiology lab at the University of Leicester which studies the way primitive vertebrates, such as hagfish or rag worms, decompose. This work sheds light on the process of fossilization by determining which types of tissues are preserved and which of them rot away rapidly.[4] The findings can improve the quality of modern reconstructions or restorations based on fossils.[5] In particular, features that evolved more recently were among the first to decay, causing fossils to appear like their ancestors and making identification more difficult.[6] Gabbott also studies environmental factors to fossil preservation.[7] She often works with extremely well-preserved fossils such as those from the Burgess Shales[8] or the Soom Shale.[9]

In 2016, Gabbott's team determined that Tullimonstrum is a vertebrate based on cellular structures in the eyes.[10] Further investigations into eye tissues of jawless fish fossils showed that vision was more developed in Carboniferous hagfish than in their modern counterparts.[11] This process is known as regressive evolution.[12]

Gabbott's research interest include soft-bodied animals from the Cambrian Period. In 2017, she studied symbiotic relationships between worms after fossils of Inquicus fellatus were found attached to the larger Cricocosmia jinnigensis and Mafangscolex sinensi.[13] In 2018, Gabbott was a co-discoverer of the chancelloriid species Allonnia nuda.[14]

Since 2017, she has expanded her research focus to address the long-term effects of plastic in the environment.[15]

Gabbott is Director of the Advanced Microscopy Centre at the University of Leicester Department of Engineering.[16]

In 2003, Gabbott was featured on the BBC series "The Big Monster Dig".[17]

Awards and honours

Personal life

Gabbott is a contributor to BBC online science articles.[20][21]

References
  1. map2. "Professor Sarah Gabbott — University of Leicester". www2.le.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. Hugo, Kristin (21 March 2018). "Scientists are studying rotting animal carcasses to understand why complete dinosaur fossils are so rare". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  3. mjs76. "Sarah Gabbott — University of Leicester". www2.le.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. Brandon Specktor (22 March 2018). "Why This Lab Reeks of Animal Flesh and Contains a Suitcase Full of Slime". livescience.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  5. "The curse of zombie fossils". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. Cressey, Daniel (31 January 2010). "Something rotten in the state of palaeontology". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2010.45. ISSN 1476-4687.
  7. "Remarkable preservation of African fossils explained". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. "Ancient Puzzle Solved In Fossils From Canadian Rockies, Dating To Cambrian Explosion". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. Mosher, Dave. "Glacial Silt Encased Some of Earth's Best-Preserved Fossils". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. "Prehistoric peepers give vital clue in solving 300 million year old 'Tully Monster'". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. "New light shed on how vertebrates see: Details in eyes of 300-million-year-old lamprey and hagfish fossils". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  12. "5 Times Evolution Ran in 'Reverse'". Science. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  13. "Infested fossil worms show ancient examples of symbiosis". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. "Strange sponge-like fossil creature from half a billion years ago". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  15. sg21. "Plastics research — University of Leicester". www2.le.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  16. "Advanced Microscopy Facility | College of Science and Engineering | University of Leicester". le.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  17. "RDF digs up old patents, fossils for C4". C21media. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  18. "The Geological Society of London - President's Awards". www.geolsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  19. "Medal and Award Winners List | The Palaeontological Association". www.palass.org. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  20. "Pollination threatened by artificial light". BBC News. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  21. "Secrets of the world's toughest creatures revealed". BBC News. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
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