Dr Charlotte Brassey
Senior Lecturer (Zoology) and Deputy Director of the Ecology and Environment Research Centre
Anatomy, Biomechanics and 3D Imaging
My profile
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Manchester Metropolitan University. My research interests span the fields of functional morphology, comparative anatomy, palaeontology and 3D imaging, including:
- the evolution of mammalian genitalia, particularly the form and funtion of the baculum
- the reconstruction of body size in the fossil record
- the development of analytical techniques to quantify shape in biological structure
What I do
Interests and expertise
My research interests are extremely diverse. I would be very happy to consider postgraduate research supervision in any area aligned to organismal morphology, biomechanics, or the development and application of new 3D imaging tools.
Editorial board membership
Associate Editor for Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Expert reviewer for external funding bodies
Grant and fellowship reviewer for UKRI, BBSRC, NERC and Leverhulme
Panel membership
BBSRC People and Talent Strategic Advisory Panel - ECR subgroup
EPSRC National X-Ray Computed Tomography National Research Facility - Facility board
Expert reviewer for journals
Reviewer for Royal Society Proceedings B, Royal Society Interface, Biology Letters, Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Anatomy, Animal Behaviour, Scientific Reports, Journal of Zoology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Cretaceous Research, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Paleontologica Electronica, PLoS ONE and more.
Teaching
Vertebrate Evolution (Year 3)
This unit explores the main features of vertebrate evolution, beginning with the origin of the group more than 500 million years ago, and ending with their present-day diversity. We span the great evolutionary transformations of vertebrate life on earth. Covering well-known groups (extinct dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles), we consider their anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and ecology have responded to selective pressures throughout evolutionary history. Through lectures, museum work and dissection (wet or virtual), the distinguishing characteristics of major groups are examined. A deeper understanding of why features have evolved is established by integrating multiple lines of evidence from natural history, developmental biology, palaeontology and functional anatomy. Spanning multiple levels of biological organisation from DNA, to organs and the physiology of whole organisms, we unravel the evolutionary mysteries of the vertebrates.
Movement Physiology and Ecology (Year 3)
In this unit, we explore both the proximate mechanisms for animal and plant movement, and the resulting large-scale ecological implications of organismal movement. The unit content spans multiple scales, beginning at the level of neurological and endocrine triggers for movement and the role of the sensory system. We uncover the biomechanical systems that facilitate animal and plant motion, particularly focused on locomotory and feeding-based mechanics. At a broader scale, we consider the role of organismal dispersal and migration, delve into the mechanisms for animal navigation, and explore the underlying ecological drivers for the mass movements of species. Students are taught via a range of activities, including lectures, laboratory practicals and computer labs.
I also contribute to….
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology (Year 1)
Sex and Survival (Year 2)
Zoology
Watch our video of biology and conservation student, Megan, as she gives us a glimpse into what life was like on her year-long placement at Chester Zoo.
Our BSc (Hons) Zoology degree offers an interd…
Biology
Watch our video of biology and conservation student, Megan, as she gives us a glimpse into what life was like on her year-long placement at Chester Zoo.
Our BSc (Hons) Biology degree offers the chanc…
Supervision
Current PhD Students:
Emma Clear (Director of Studies) 2018-ongoing: Reproductive biomechanics and mechanisms of sexual selection in mustelid mammals
Completed PhD Students:
Mariane Delauney (Co-supervisor) 2016-2022: The form and function of avian rictal bristles
Callum McLean (Director of Studies) 2016-2020: The biomechanics of predatory structures in arthropods
Research outputs
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Journal articles
Delaunay, M.G., Brassey, C., Larsen, C., Lloyd, H., Grant, R.A. 'The evolutionary origin of avian facial bristles and the likely role of rictal bristles in feeding ecology.' Scientific Reports, 12pp. 21108-21108.
Anderson, L., Brassey, C., Pond, S., Bates, K., Sellers, W.I. 'Investigating the quadrupedal abilities of Scutellosaurus lawleri and its implications for locomotor behavior evolution among dinosaurs.' Anatomical Record,
Dougill, G., Brassey, C., Starostin, E.L., Andrews, H., Kitchener, A., van der Heijden, G., Goss, V., Grant, R. 'Describing whisker morphology of the Carnivora.' Journal of Morphology, 284(9) pp. e21628-e21628.
Clear, E., Grant, R., Gardiner, J., Brassey, C. 'Baculum shape complexity correlates to metrics of post-copulatory sexual selection in Musteloidea.' Journal of Morphology, 284(4) pp. e21572-e21572.
Arslan, M.F., Haridis, A., Rosin, P.L., Tari, S., Brassey, C., Gardiner, J.D., Genctav, A., Genctav, M. 'SHREC’21: Quantifying shape complexity.' Computers & Graphics, 102pp. 144-153.
Clear, E., Grant, R.A., Carroll, M., Brassey, C.A. 'A Review and Case Study of 3D Imaging Modalities for Female Amniote Reproductive Anatomy.' Integrative and Comparative Biology, pp. icac027-icac027.
Connah, K., Michael, B., Brassey, C. 'MiTiSegmenter: Software for high throughput segmentation and meshing of microCT data in microtiter plate arrays.' MethodsX, 9pp. 101849-101849.
Orbach, D., Brassey, C., Gardiner, J., Brennan, P. '3D genital shape complexity in female marine mammals.' Ecology and Evolution, 11(7) pp. 3210-3218.
McLean, C., Garwood, R., Brassey, C. 'Assessing the patterns and drivers of shape complexity in the amblypygid pedipalp.' Ecology and Evolution, 11(15) pp. 10709-10719.
Buckley, M., Pinsonneault, M., Brassey, C., Rolett, B. 'High-throughput microCT and ZooMS collagen fingerprinting of Scombrid bone from the Marquesas Islands.' Journal of Archaeological Science, 136pp. 105475-105475.
McLean, C.J., Garwood, R.J., Brassey, C.A. 'Sexual dimorphism in the size and shape of the raptorial pedipalps of Giant Whip Spiders (Arachnida: Amblypygi).' Journal of Zoology, 310(1) pp. 45-54.
Brassey, C.A., Behnsen, J., Gardiner, J.D. 'Postcopulatory sexual selection and the evolution of shape complexity in the carnivoran baculum.' Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1936) pp. 20201883-20201883.
McLean, C.J., Garwood, R.J., Brassey, C.A. 'Sexual dimorphism in the Arachnid orders..' PeerJ, 6
D'Cruze, N., Singh, B., MOOKERJEE, A., Macdonald, D., Hunter, K., Brassey, C., Jennifer, R., Megson, S., Megson, D.P., Fox, G., Louies, J., Sharath, R.S. 'What’s in a name? Wildlife traders evade authorities using code words.' Oryx, 52(1) pp. 13-15.
Brassey, C., Gardiner, J., Kitchener, A. 'Testing hypotheses for the function of the carnivoran baculum using finite-element analysis.' Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1887)
Gardiner, J.D., Behnsen, J., Brassey, C.A. 'Alpha shapes: determining 3D shape complexity across morphologically diverse structures.' BMC evolutionary biology, 18(1) pp. 184-184.
Mol, L., Gomez-Heras, M., Brassey, C.A., Green, O., Blenkinsop, T. 'The benefit of a tough skin: bullet holes, weathering and the preservation of heritage.' Royal Society Open Science, 4
Brassey, C.A. 'Body mass estimation in paleontology: a review of volumetric techniques.' The Paleontological Society Papers, 22pp. 133-156.
Sellers, W., Pond, S., Brassey, C.A., Manning, P., Bates, K. 'Investigating the running abilities of Tyrannosaurus rex using stress-constrained multibody dynamic analysis.' PeerJ, 5
Brassey, C.A., O'Mahoney, T., Chamberlain, A., Sellers, W. 'A volumetric technique for fossil body mass estimation applied to Australopithecus afarensis.' Journal of Human Evolution, 115pp. 47-64.
Brassey, C.A., Maidment, S., Barrett, P. 'Muscle moment arm analyses applied to vertebrate paleontology: a case study using Stegosaurus stenops Marsh, 1887.' Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 37(5)
Peyer, K.E., Brassey, C., Rose, K., Sellers, W.I. 'Locomotion pattern and foot pressure adjustments during gentle turns in healthy subjects.' Journal of Biomechanics, 60pp. 65-71.
Brassey, C.A., O'Mahoney, T.G., Kitchener, A.C., Manning, P.L., Sellers, W.I. 'Convex-hull mass estimates of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus): Application of a CT-based mass estimation technique.' PeerJ, 2016(1)
Lautenschlager, S., Brassey, C.A., Button, D.J., Barrett, P.M. 'Decoupled form and function in disparate herbivorous dinosaur clades.' Scientific Reports, 6
Maidment, S.C.R., Brassey, C., Barrett, P.M. 'The postcranial skeleton of an exceptionally complete individual of the plated dinosaur Stegosaurus stenops (Dinosauria: Thyreophora) from the upper jurassic morrison formation of Wyoming, U.S.A..' PLoS ONE, 10(10)
Brassey, C.A., Gardiner, J.D. 'An advanced shape-fitting algorithm applied to quadrupedal mammals: Improving volumetric mass estimates.' Royal Society Open Science, 2(8)
Bates, K.T., Falkingham, P.L., Macaulay, S., Brassey, C., Maidment, S.C.R. 'Downsizing a giant: Re-evaluating Dreadnoughtus body mass.' Biology Letters, 11(6)
Brassey, C.A., Maidment, S.C.R., Barrett, P.M. 'Body mass estimates of an exceptionally complete Stegosaurus (Ornithischia: Thyreophora): Comparing volumetric and linear bivariate mass estimation methods.' Biology Letters, 11(3)
Brassey, C.A., Sellers, W.I. 'Scaling of convex hull volume to body mass in modern primates, non-primate mammals and birds.' PLoS ONE, 9(3)
Brassey, C.A., Margetts, L., Kitchener, A.C., Withers, P.J., Manning, P.L., Sellers, W.I. 'Finite element modelling versus classic beam theory: Comparing methods for stress estimation in a morphologically diverse sample of vertebrate long bones.' Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 10(79)
Brassey, C.A., Kitchener, A.C., Withers, P.J., Manning, P.L., Sellers, W.I. 'The Role of Cross-Sectional Geometry, Curvature, and Limb Posture in Maintaining Equal Safety Factors: A Computed Tomography Study.' Anatomical Record, 296(3) pp. 395-413.
Brassey, C.A., Holdaway, R.N., Packham, A.G., Anné, J., Manning, P.L., Sellers, W.I. 'More than one way of being a Moa: Differences in leg bone robustness map divergent evolutionary trajectories in Dinornithidae and Emeidae (Dinornithiformes).' PLoS ONE, 8(12)
Sellers, W.I., Hepworth-Bell, J., Falkingham, P.L., Bates, K.T., Brassey, C.A., Egerton, V.M., Manning, P.L. 'Minimum convex hull mass estimations of complete mounted skeletons.' Biology Letters, 8(5) pp. 842-845.
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Conference papers
Brassey, C.A., Behnsen, J., Gardiner, J.D. 'Quantifying Shape Complexity in the Carnivoran Baculum.' 280. WILEY, pp. S88-S89.
Brassey, C.A., Kitchener, A.C., Behnsen, J., Gardiner, J.D. 'The Role of Sexual Selection in Shaping the Carnivoran Baculum.' In Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Integrative-and-Comparative-Biology (SICB). 58. San Francisco, CA, 3/1/2018 - 7/1/2018. OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, pp. E281-E281.
McLean, C.J., Garwood, R.J., Brassey, C.A. 'A Geometric Morphometric Analysis of the Raptorial Appendage of the Whip Spider Damon variegatus (Arachnida, Amblypygi).' In Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Integrative-and-Comparative-Biology (SICB). 58. San Francisco, CA, 3/1/2018 - 7/1/2018. OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, pp. E376-E376.
Brassey, C.A., O'Mahoney, T., Sellers, W.I. 'A volumetric mass estimation technique for biological anthropology: 'Convex hull' scaling in modern primates and applications to fossil hominids.' In 84th Annual Meeting of the American-Association-of-Physical-Anthropologists. 156. St Louis, MO, 25/3/2015 - 28/3/2015. WILEY-BLACKWELL, pp. 91-91.
Career history
2021-present
Lecturer in Zoology, Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University
2020-present
Appointed Deputy Director of the Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University
March 2021 - Oct 2021
Maternity leave
July 2020
Completed Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Manchester Metropolitan University
2016-2021
BBSRC Future Leader Fellow, Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University
Fellowship project: “Bones of contention: The Functional Morphology and Biomechanics of the Mammalian Os Penis and Os Clitoridis”
Dec 2018 - Aug 2019
Maternity leave
2015-2016
Research Technician, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester
BBSRC funded project: “First steps: The Mechanics and Control of Velocity Change in Humans”
2014-2015
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Natural History Museum London
2010-2014
PhD in the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester.
Thesis title: “Biomechanical modelling of long bones and body mass estimation in modern and fossil species”
2009
Graduated with BSc Geography and Geology (Ai), University of Manchester