Position: Associate Professor
Office: B248 G
Phone: 403.440.6174
Fax: 403.440.6333
E-mail: pajohnston@mtroyal.ca
Instructor Profile:
Dr. Johnston holds BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Alberta and a PhD from the Australian National University and is currently the editor of Palaeontographica Canadiana, Canada's national monograph series on paleontological research. He is an internationally recognized expert on the evolution of bivalve mollusks (clams, oysters, and scallops) and on animal communities associated with fluids discharged from the sea floor at ancient hydrothermal vents and seeps. He and his research team recently advanced a new hypothesis that Canada's famous half-billion year old Burgess Shale fossil site represents an ancient seafloor hydrothermal seep community. His research has taken him to diverse regions of the planet including remote areas of the Rocky Mountains,Arctic Canada, Patagonia, the Gobi Desert, Australia, and the Philippines.
Community Service/Research Interests:
Editor, Palaeontographica Canadiana, a national paleontologic monograph series published by the Joint Committee of the Geological Association of Canada and the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists.
Main areas of scholarly interest and/or expertise:
Form, function and evolution of fossil and extant marine invertebrates. Using fossil invertebrates to solve geologic problems and to understand ancient depositional environments.
Current research interests/current work:
The evolution of bivalve mollusks (clams, oysters, and scallops). Animal communities associated with fluids discharged from the sea floor at ancient hydrothermal vents and seeps. The geologic setting of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Yoho National Park.