Professor Mark Pagel
Responsibilities
Professor of Evolutionary Biology
- Director of the Evolution Laboratory
Areas of Interest
- Funding from ERC and BBSRC
- Molecular phylogenetics and Bayesian Statistical methods for comparative data
- The evolution of human languages
- Human cultural and technological evolution
- Speciation
- Rate and mode of evolution
Member of the Evolution Research Group
Impact, Enterprise and Outreach
- Public lectures in UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Europe
- Invited Participant, The World Economic Forum
- Interviews with BBC Radio 3, 4, BBC Regional Radio, International press coverage
- Featured in New Scientist, Discovery, National Geographic
- TED Talk
Esteem Factors
- Fellow of the Royal Society, 2011
- Coordinator of European Research Council Advanced Investigator Award (£2 million)
- External Professor, the Santa Fe Institute, USA
- Plenary Speaker to Human Behaviour and Evolution Society meetings
International Collaborators
- Professor Richard Foster, Yale University
- Professor Russell Gray, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Dr Tanmoy Bhattacharya, The Santa Fe Institute and Los Alamos Laboratory, USA
- Dr Daniel Hrushka, University of Arizona
- Dr Chris Organ, University of Montana
National Collaborators
- Dr Mark Beaumont, University of Bristol
Research groups / Centres
Publications
Y
Number of items: 65.
2019
- Pagel, M., Beaumont, M. A., Meade, A., Verkerk, A. and Calude, A. (2019) Dominant words rise to the top by positive frequency-dependent selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (15). pp. 7397-7402. ISSN 1091-6490 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1816994116
- Dibble, J., Prelorendjos, A., Romice, O., Zanella, M., Strano, E., Pagel, M. and Porta, S. (2019) On the origin of spaces: morphometric foundations of urban form evolution. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 46 (4). pp. 707-730. ISSN 2399-8091 doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808317725075
2018
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2018) The deep history of the number words. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 373 (1740). 0517. ISSN 0962-8436 doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0517
2017
- Pagel, M. (2017) Q&A: What is human language, when did it evolve and why should we care? BMC Biology, 15 (1). 64. ISSN 1741-7007 doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0405-3
- Calude, A. S., Miller, S. and Pagel, M. (2017) Modelling loanword success – a sociolinguistic quantitative study of Māori loanwords in New Zealand English. Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory. ISSN 1613-7027 doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/cllt-2017-0010
- Pagel, M. (2017) Darwinian perspectives on the evolution of human languages. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24 (1). pp. 151-157. ISSN 1069-9384 doi: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1072-z
2016
- Pagel, M. (2016) Animal behaviour: lethal violence deep in the human lineage. Nature, 538. pp. 180-181. ISSN 1476-4687 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19474
- Baker, J., Meade, A., Pagel, M. and Venditti, C. (2016) Positive phenotypic selection inferred from phylogenies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 118 (1). pp. 95-115. ISSN 0024-4066 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12649
2015
- Grollemund, R., Branford, S., Bostoen, K., Meade, A., Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2015) Bantu expansion shows that habitat alters the route and pace of human dispersals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112 (43). pp. 13296-13301. ISSN 0027-8424 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503793112
- Baker, J., Meade, A., Pagel, M. and Venditti, C. (2015) Adaptive evolution toward larger size in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112 (16). pp. 5093-5098. ISSN 0027-8424 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419823112
- Hruschka, D. J., Branford, S., Smith, E. D., Wilkins, J., Meade, A., Pagel, M. and Bhattacharya, T. (2015) Detecting regular sound changes in linguistics as events of concerted evolution. Current Biology, 25 (1). pp. 1-9. ISSN 0960-9822 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.10.064
2014
- Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2014) Plenty of room for punctuational change. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 29 (2). pp. 71-72. ISSN 0169-5347 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.12.002
2013
- Altschuler, E. L., Calude, A., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2013) Linguistic evidence supports date for Homeric epics. Bioessays, 35 (5). pp. 417-420. ISSN 0265-9247 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201200165
- Pagel, M., Atkinson, Q. D., Calude, A. and Meade, A. (2013) Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110 (21). pp. 8471-8476. ISSN 0027-8424 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218726110
2011
- Venditti, C., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2011) Multiple routes to mammalian diversity. Nature, 479. pp. 393-396. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10516
- Wilson Sayres, M. A., Venditti, C., Pagel, M. and Makova, K. D. (2011) Do variations in substitution rates and male mutation bias correlate with life-history traits? A study of 32 mammalian genomes. Evolution, 65 (10). pp. 2800-2815. ISSN 1558-5646 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01337.x
- Gomes, N. M. V., Ryder, O. A., Houck, M. L., Charter, S. J., Walker, W., Forsyth, N. R., Austad, S. N., Venditti, C., Pagel, M., Shay, J. W. and Wright, W. E. (2011) Comparative biology of mammalian telomeres: hypotheses on ancestral states and the roles of telomeres in longevity determination. Aging cell, 10 (5). pp. 761-768. ISSN 1474-9718 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00718.x
2010
- Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2010) Speciation as an active force in promoting genetic evolution. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25 (1). pp. 14-20. ISSN 0169-5347 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.06.010
- Venditti, C., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2010) Phylogenies reveal new interpretation of speciation and the Red Queen. Nature, 463 (7379). pp. 349-352. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08630
2009
- Organ, C. L., Janes, D. E., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2009) Genotypic sex determination enabled adaptive radiations of extinct marine reptiles. Nature, 461 (7262). pp. 389-392. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08350
- Pagel, M. (2009) Human language as a culturally transmitted replicator. Nature Reviews Genetics, 10 (6). pp. 405-415. ISSN 1471-0056 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2560
- Pagel, M. (2009) Insight overview: natural selection 150 years on. Nature, 457 (7231). pp. 808-811. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07889
- Pagel, M. (2009) Natural selection 150 years on. Nature, 457 (7231). pp. 808-811. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07889
2008
- Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2008) Evolution in fits and starts. The Biologist, 55 (3). pp. 140-146.
- Atkinson, Q. D., Meade, A., Venditti, C., Greenhill, S. J. and Pagel, M. (2008) Languages evolve in punctuational bursts. Science, 319 (5863). p. 588. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1149683
- Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2008) Model misspecification not the node-density artifact. Evolution, 62 (8). pp. 2125-2126. ISSN 0014-3820 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00407.x
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2008) Modelling heterotachy in phylogenetic inference by reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 363 (1512). pp. 3955-3964. ISSN 0962-8436 doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0178
- Atkinson, Q. D., Meade, A., Venditti, C., Greenhill, S. J. and Pagel, M. (2008) Parsing the evolution of language - Response. Science, 320 (5875). p. 446. ISSN 0036-8075
- Venditti, C., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2008) Phylogenetic mixture models can reduce node-density artifacts. Systematic Biology, 57 (2). pp. 286-293. ISSN 1063-5157 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150802044045
- Freckleton, R. P., Phillimore, A. B. and Pagel, M. (2008) Relating traits to diversification: A simple test. American Naturalist, 172 (1). pp. 102-115. ISSN 0003-0147 doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/588076
- Pagel, M. (2008) Rise of the digital machine. Nature, 452 (7188). p. 699. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/452699a
- Venditti, C. and Pagel, M. (2008) Speciation and bursts of evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 1 (3). pp. 274-280. ISSN 1936-6426 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-008-0049-4
- Pagel, M. and Pomiankowski, A. (2008) The organismal prospect. In: M., P. and Pomiankowski, A. (eds.) Evolutionary Genomics and Proteomics. Sinauer, Sunderland MA, pp. 1-10. ISBN 9780878936540
- Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2008) A phylogenetic mixture model for heterotachy. In: Pontarotti, P. (ed.) Evolutionary Biology from Concept to Application. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, 29-41 . ISBN 9783642009518
- Pagel, M. and Atkinson, Q. D. (2008) The potential for genetic adaptations to language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31 (5). 529-+. ISSN 0140-525X doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x08005207
2007
- Pagel, M., Meade, A. and Scott, D. (2007) Assembly rules for protein networks derived from phylogenetic-statistical analysis of whole genomes. Bmc Evolutionary Biology, 7. p. 11. ISSN 1471-2148 doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-7-s1-s16
- Barker, D., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2007) Constrained models of evolution lead to improved prediction of functional linkage from correlated gain and loss of genes. Bioinformatics, 23 (1). pp. 14-20. ISSN 1367-4803 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btl558
- Pagel, M., Atkinson, Q. D. and Meade, A. (2007) Frequency of word-use predicts rates of lexical evolution throughout Indo-European history. Nature, 449 (7163). 717-U7. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06176
- Sibly, R. M., Barker, D., Hone, J. and Pagel, M. (2007) On the stability of populations of mammals, birds, fish and insects. Ecology Letters, 10 (10). pp. 970-976. ISSN 1461-023X doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01092.x
- Organ, C. L., Shedlock, A. M., Meade, A., Pagel, M. and Edwards, S. V. (2007) Origin of avian genome size and structure in non-avian dinosaurs. Nature, 446 (7132). pp. 180-184. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05621
2006
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2006) Bayesian analysis of correlated evolution of discrete characters by reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo. American Naturalist, 167 (6). pp. 808-825. ISSN 0003-0147 doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/503444
- Pagel, M. (2006) Darwinian cultural evolution rivals genetic evolution. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29 (4). p. 360. ISSN 0140-525X
- Pagel, M. (2006) Darwinism and its discontents. Nature, 443 (7107). p. 31. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/443031b
- Venditti, C., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2006) Detecting the node-density artifact in phylogeny reconstruction. Systematic Biology, 55 (4). pp. 637-643. ISSN 1063-5157 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150600865567
- Pagel, M. (2006) Editorial: evolution, bioinformatics, and EBO. Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online , 2. pp. 357-358. ISSN 1176-9343
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2006) Estimating rates of lexical replacement on phylogenetic trees of languages. In: Forster, P. and Renfrew, C. (eds.) Phylogenetic methods and the prehistory of languages. McDonald institute Monographs, pp. 173-182. ISBN 9781902937335
- Lumbsch, H. T., Schmitt, I., Barker, D. and Pagel, M. (2006) Evolution of micromorphological and chemical characters in the lichen-forming fungal family Pertusariaceae. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 89 (4). pp. 615-626. ISSN 0024-4066 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00696.x
- Pagel, M., Venditti, C. and Meade, A. (2006) Large punctuational contribution of speciation to evolutionary divergence at the molecular level. Science, 314 (5796). pp. 119-121. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1129647
- Sibly, R. M., Barker, D., Denham, M. C., Hone, J. and Pagel, M. (2006) Response to comment on "On the regulation of populations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects". Science, 313 (5783). p. 45. ISSN 0036-8075
- Sibly, R. M., Barker, D., Denham, M. C., Hone, J. and Pagel, M. (2006) Response to comments on "On the regulation of populations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects". Science, 311 (5764). p. 1. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1121565
- Lester, L., Meade, A. and Pagel, M. (2006) The slow road to the eukaryotic genome. Bioessays, 28 (1). pp. 57-64. ISSN 0265-9247 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.20344
2005
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2005) Bayesian estimation of correlated evolution across cultures: a case study of marriage systems and wealth transfer at marriage. In: Mace, R., Holden, C.J. and Shennan, S. (eds.) The Evolution of Cultural Diversity: a phylogenetic approach. University College London Press, London, pp. 235-256. ISBN 9781844720651
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2005) Mixture models in phylogenetic inference. In: Gascuel, O. (ed.) Mathematics of Evolution and Phylogeny. Oxford University Press, pp. 121-142. ISBN 9780198566106
- Sibly, R. M., Barker, D., Denham, M. C., Hone, J. and Pagel, M. (2005) On the regulation of populations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects. Science, 309 (5734). pp. 607-610. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1110760
- Barker, D. and Pagel, M. (2005) Predicting functional gene links from phylogenetic-statistical analyses of whole genomes. PLoS Computational Biology, 1 (1). pp. 24-31. ISSN 1553-734X doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010003
2004
- Pagel, M., Meade, A. and Barker, D. (2004) Bayesian estimation of ancestral character states on phylogenies. Systematic Biology, 53 (5). pp. 673-684. ISSN 1063-5157 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150490522232
- Pagel, M. (2004) Limpets break Dollo's law. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 19 (6). pp. 278-280. ISSN 0169-5347 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2004.03.020
- Webster, A. J., Payne, R. and Pagel, M. (2004) Response to comments on "Molecular phylogenies link rates of evolution and speciation". Science, 303 (5655). p. 2. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1091131
- Pagel, M. and Mace, R. (2004) The cultural wealth of nations. Nature, 428 (6980). pp. 275-278. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/428275a
- Pagel, M. and Bodmer, W. (2004) The evolution of human hairlessness: cultural adaptations and the ectoparasite hypothesis. In: Wasser, S.P. (ed.) Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Horizons (papers in honour of Eviatar Nevo). Kluwer Academic Publishers., London, pp. 329-336. ISBN 140201693X
- Pagel, M. and Meade, A. (2004) A phylogenetic mixture model for detecting pattern-heterogeneity in gene sequence or character-state data. Systematic Biology, 53 (4). pp. 571-581. ISSN 1063-5157 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150490468675
2003
- Freckleton, R. P., Harvey, P. H. and Pagel, M. (2003) Bergmann's rule and body size in mammals. American Naturalist, 161 (5). pp. 821-825. ISSN 0003-0147 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00363.x
- Pagel, M. (2003) Evolutionary biology: polygamy and parenting. Nature, 424 (6944). pp. 23-24. ISSN 0028-0836 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/424023a
- Webster, A. J., Payne, R. J. H. and Pagel, M. (2003) Molecular phylogenies link rates of evolution and speciation. Science, 301 (5632). p. 478. ISSN 0036-8075 doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1083202
- Pagel, M. and Bodmer, W. (2003) A naked ape would have fewer parasites. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 270 (Suppl 1). S117-S119. ISSN 0962-8452 doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2003.0041