Diatoms of North America
David Williams
Taxon Contributor
Diatom Researcher Natural History Museum, London
When confronted with any particular biological specimen, three questions should come into the minds of systematists: What is it? What is it related to? Where does it live? - Colin Patterson
I am a diatom systematist--taxonomist. My research is divided more or less equally between empirical studies on the systematics and biogeography of diatoms (especially ancient lakes and circum-Pacific distributions) and theoretical studies related to advances in cladistic (systematic) theory. My main interests are diatom phylogeny, systematics and biogeography. During the last decade or so I have concentrated my efforts on the role fossils have in determining the evolutionary relationships in diatoms.