Evolution researchers often produce phylogenetic trees that demonstrate the relationships between species, with the first complete phylogenetic tree containing over two million species published in 2015. There was a major problem however: how could researchers, or anyone, view these large trees after building them?
Dr James Rosindell, from Imperial’s Department of Life Sciences at Silwood Park, set out to solve this problem. With colleagues he created OneZoom: an interactive tree of life that allows users to zoom in to any species and explore its relationships with others, in a seamless visualisation on a single web page. The explorer also includes images of over 85,000 species, plus, where known, their vulnerability to extinction.
As well as being available online (and visited by over a million users), the platform has been taken on the road, providing interactive exhibits at public institutions and playing a key role in public-facing science communication initiatives including educational walks and science festivals.
A OneZoom charity has also been set up with the aim of using the tree of life to “advance the education of the public in the subjects of evolution, biodiversity and conservation of the variety of life on Earth,” which also allows people to sponsor a species on the OneZoom tree.
Postgraduate research
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