Big Cat Biogeography, Morphology, and Climate Change
Dr David Cooper successfully defended his thesis in November 2019 after 4 years as a PhD student within the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh and co-supervised by National Museums Scotland.
Last updated: 13 August 2026
About the research
It is well known that big cats, such as lions and tigers, now occupy small fragments of their former ranges. However, much less is known about the extent and permanence of these historical ranges through longer, evolutionary timescales. David’s PhD research looked at identifying the changing ranges of big cats since the peak of the Last Ice Age, whilst analysing morphological variation in the skulls of lions and tigers, which reflect these changing distributions and the connections between populations.
Understanding the shifting ranges of big cats through the turbulent climatic conditions of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene allows for a better appreciation of the geographical variation we see today. Using species distribution models with palaeo-climate data, David modelled the likely ranges of big cats through the glacial and interglacial conditions they endured. Additionally, by exploring the current morphological variation found in big cats, he gained insight into how lion and tiger populations may have evolved. Skull measurements, collected from museums across Europe including National Museums Scotland, were integral in creating a global dataset on big cat skulls, from which David was able to explore the morphological variation in big cats across their respective ranges.
David’s research has important implications for conservation strategies of lions and tigers that currently do not take into account these deep-time changes in distributions and the phenotypic responses to changing ecological conditions.
- Project title
Big Cat Biogeography, Morphology, and Climate Change
- Student
Dr David Cooper
- Project active
2015 - 2019
- Funder
NERC E3 (Edinburgh Earth and Environment) Doctoral Training Partnership
- University Supervisors
Professor Andrew Dugmore and Bruce Gittings - School of Geosciences
- National Museums Scotland Supervisor
- Research theme
Sustainability
Publications
Cooper, D.M., Yamaguchi, N., Macdonald, D.W., Patterson, B.D., Salkina, G.P., Yudin, V.G., Dugmore, A.J. and Kitchener, A.C. 2023. Getting to the Meat of It: The Effects of a Captive Diet upon the Skull Morphology of the Lion and Tiger. Animals 13 (23): 3616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233616
Cooper, D.M., Dugmore, A.K., Kitchener, A.C., Metzger, M.J. and Trabucco, A. 2021. A kingdom in decline: Holocene range contraction of the lion (Panthera leo) modelled with global environmental stratification. PeerJ:https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10504
Cooper, D.M., Dugmore, A.J., Gittings, B.M., Scharf, A.K., Wilting, A. andKitchener, A.C. 2016. Predicted Pleistocene-Holocene range shifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris). Diversity and Distribution. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12484
Project contact
Professor Andrew Kitchener
Lead image: David Cooper on placement with Panthera Corporation, working with the Kyrgyzstan snow leopard program. Photo credit: Sebastian Kennerknecht.
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