Bruce Patterson

MacArthur Curator of Mammals

Negaunee Integrative Research Center

I study several topics in evolutionary biology, focusing on the diversification, distribution and conservation of mammals. The breadth of my research is testimony to the facts that no interesting biological questions are ever fully answered and progress towards answering them invariably opens up a variety of others.  Curiosity, opportunity, and a bit of wanderlust have diversified my program and caused it to span two continents.

For decades now, I have used museum specimens to study the systematics and biogeography of Neotropical mammals. Collaborating with scientists and students in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, I have worked throughout the Andes, Amazônia, and in Atlantic, Valdivian, and Magellanic Forests. As we document some of the world's richest, most highly endemic faunas, we regularly discover and describe new species of bats, rodents and marsupials, and use them in regional and continental reconstructions of phylogeny and biogeography. This program has offered abundant training opportunities for American and Latin American students, both in the lab and in the field. Much of my recent work on Neotropical faunas has been in collaboration with former "sandwich fellows" Renan Maestri, Anderson Feijo, Carla Hendges, Rafaela Missagia, Read more

Accomplishments

A list of recent grants

A list of recent publications

Research Sketch

Descriptions of my principal research interests.

South AmericaAfrica

Contact

bpatterson@fieldmuseum.org

Science Focus
Topics of Interest
Administrative Areas

Learning Resources

  • Adventures in the Herbarium: Museums and Medicines

    The importance and impact of Field Museum’s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens.  Museums and Medicines highlights the impact plant specimens have had on human health and why their conservation is so important.

    Activity|Grades 3-12

  • Being Big on Land

    Learn why being big isn’t always an advantage and find out how mythic creatures like Godzilla and King Kong could never have carried their own weight.

    Video|Grades 3-12

  • Bergmann's Rule | Biomechanics Toolkit

    Uncover how an animal’s size affects its ability to regulate temperature.

    Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8

  • Biodiversity and Ecosystems

    Middle school-aged students will investigate the differences between native and invasive plants and demonstrate their learning by creating a model of a native plant garden.

    Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8