Professor Jason Hilton PhD

Professor Jason Hilton

Life and Environmental Sciences
Professor of Palaeobotany and Palaeoenvironments
School Health and Safety Coordinator (fieldwork)

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 41 46151
Fax
+44 (0)121 41 44942
Email
j.m.hilton@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Hilton is a research focused palaeobotanist and evolutionary plant biologist with wide-ranging interests in palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates through Earth history. He has a broad background in Geobiology and Earth Systems Science, and is an active researcher across a number of fields closely allied to his specialisation including investigations on mass extinctions, hyperthermal events, and the consequences of large igneous provinces volcanism on the bio- and geospheres.  

Qualifications

  • BSc (University of Sheffield)
  • PhD (Cardiff University)

Biography

2003– Lecturer (2003‒8), Senior Lecturer (2008‒11), Reader (2011‒2021) and Professor (2021-present). School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham.
2000–03. Curator of Palaeobotany, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh; President’s Award, Geological Society of London (2000).
1998–2002. NERC Research Fellow, Cardiff University then National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh.
1997–98. Research Fellow (18 months), Botany Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
1997. Post‒Doctoral Research Assistant, Department of Geology, Cardiff University.
1996–97. Research Assistant & Assistant Curator. National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.

Teaching

Professor Hilton is one of the core members of the Earth Sciences (Geology) teaching team.  He is module leader for the following modules:

  • Year 1 Introductory Field and Research Skills (20 credits, lectures and tutorial group supervision)
  • Year 2 Earth Resources, Environmental Impacts and Sustainability (20 credits, lectures, seminars, practicals)

 In addition, he contributes to the following modules:

  • Year 2 Palaeoecology (20 credits, taphonomy and terrestrial biotas and proxies)
  • Year 3 Independent Research Projects / Dissertations (40 credits project supervision)
  • Year 4 Earth Science Research (60 credits project supervision)
  • Year 1 Earth Systems (20 credits, lectures on Palaeozoic stratigraphy and events)
  • Year 3-4 Professional Placements (20 credits)

Jason uses a range of methods within his teaching including traditional lectures, specimen based practical classes, field geology, small group tutorials, seminars and interactive computer classes. 

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Hilton welcomes enquiries from prospective Doctoral Researchers and Research Fellows in his areas of interest, especially:

(1) Morphological and anatomical investigations of exceptionally well-preserved fossil plants.
(2) Physical characterisation of sedimentary depositional environments to understand environmental and climate change in deep time.
(3) Evolutionary analysis of plant groups.
(4) Fossil floras from China.

Research

Jason Hilton is research focussed palaeobotanist and evolutionary plant biologist. His primary research foci are:

Seed plant evolution and phylogeny: The origin, early evolution, systematics, evolution and phylogeny of seed plants, and includes information from both living and extinct species.

Fossil plants and the environment: Fossil plants as indicators of past environmental and climate conditions, evaluating in deep time how plants changed the environments and climates in which they lived, assessing floral responses to periods of profound environmental and climatic change including mass extinctions.  

Fossil plants from China: Investigating plant evolution and community change from the fossil floras of China

In addition, Jason' secondary research actively researches a range of related topics including (i) sedimentary depositional systems to evaluate the formation, distributon and quality of natural resources, (ii) palaeoenvironmental change, (iii) palaeobiology, and (iv) taphonomy.

Other activities

Professor Hilton is an avid fossil collector and enjoys spending time in the field and reading, and avoiding tasks including cleaning cars and gardening.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Lopes, G, Blanco-Ferrera, S, Bond, DPG, Greene, SE, Hilton, J, Marshall, JEA, Sanz-López, J & Wellman, CH 2025, 'A palynological investigation of the Early-Middle Devonian transition and associated Choteč Event in Northern Spain', Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, vol. 332, 105222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105222

Qin, Y-F, Xiao-Yuan, H, Wang, S-J, Cheng, X, Hilton, J & Rothwell, GW 2025, 'Convergent evolution in the late Permian megaphyllous leaves of the Noeggerathiales progymnosperm Paratingia and the cycad Plagiozamites', Annals of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf272

Xu, Z, Yu, J, Yin, H, Merdith, AS, Hilton, J, Allen, B, Gurung, K, Wignall, PB, Dunhill, A, Shen, J, Schwartzman, D, Godderis, Y, Donnadieu, Y, Wang, Y, Zhang, Y, Poulton, S & Mills, BJW 2025, 'Early Triassic super-greenhouse climate driven by vegetation collapse', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 5400. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60396-y

Wenchao, S, Jianxin, Y, Hilton, J, Xiao, S, Li, T, Diez, JB, Jinnan, T & Yongchao, L 2025, 'Floral dynamics and ecological adaptations in the Lopingian gigantopterid rainforest of South China', Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, vol. 338, 105335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105335

Sun, W, Zhou, W, Wu, Y, Pšenička, J, Hilton, J & Wang, J 2025, 'Scolecopteris oxydonta sp. nov., a new marattialean fern from the early Permian Wuda Tuff Flora', Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, vol. 332, 105231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105231

Zhou, J, Shao, L, Jones, T, Huang, Y, Chen, M, Lu, J & Hilton, J 2025, 'Multi-proxy records of wildfires and climate-vegetation-wildfire mechanisms during the Middle Jurassic of the Yili Basin, Northwest China', Global and Planetary Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.104991

Xu, Z, Bateson, E, Cleal, C, Hutton, R, Yu, J, Wang, S-J, Knoll, A, Mills, BJW & Hilton, J 2025, 'Normalization of fossil plant megafossil databases for diversity and palaeobiogeography analyses by filtering taxonomic duplication: Principles, methods, examples and recommendations', Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, vol. 678, 113236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113236

Yin, L, Yang, M, Lu, J, Ling, Z, Hu, X, Bian, X, Zhou, K, Zhang, P, Liu, L, Shao, L, Hilton, J & Bond, DPG 2025, 'Onset of large-scale terrestrial organic carbon burial driven by Early Devonian changes in vascular plants and environments', Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 674, 113039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113039

Yin, L, Yang, M, Lu, J, Wu, X, Peng, X, Tang, M, Zhou, K, Zhang, P, Shao, L, Bond, DPG & Hilton, J 2025, 'Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) deep-time peatland evolution in Northwest China driven by climate change', International Journal of Coal Geology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2025.104871

Zhang, P, Yang, M, Lu, J, Dal Corso, J, Jiang, Z, Dai, S, Wang, L, Zhou, K, Xu, X, Guo, Y, Hilton, J, Shao, L, Chen, H & Greene, S 2025, 'Repeated pulses of volcanism drove the Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial episode', Global and Planetary Change, vol. 255, 105112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105112

Bian, X, Yang, M, Lu, J, Yin, L, Shao, L, Hilton, J, Bond, DPG & Dai, S 2025, 'Sedimentary environment controls on critical metals enrichment in late Permian coal measures in western Guizhou, China', Ore Geology Reviews, vol. 186, 106824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2025.106824

Zhang, P, Yang, M, Lu, J, Jiang, Z, Wang, L, Zhu, Y, Guo, W, Li, Z, Shi, Z, Wang, P, Zhou, K, Xu, X, Shao, L & Hilton, J 2025, 'Terrestrial mercury anomalies across the Permian-Triassic transition in North China linked to volcanism', Chemical Geology, vol. 673, 122555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122555

Zhou, K, Yang, M, Zhang, S, Guo, R, Zhang, P, Shao, L, Wang, W, Wang, L, Lu, J & Hilton, J 2025, 'Volcanism-driven synchronous terrestrial and marine anoxia during the Kungurian (early Permian)', Gondwana Research, vol. 142, pp. 120-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2025.02.027

Comment/debate

Xu, Z, Yu, J, Yin, H, Merdith, AS, Hilton, J, Allen, BJ, Gurung, K, Wignall, PB, Dunhill, AM, Shen, J, Schwartzman, D, Goddéris, Y, Donnadieu, Y, Wang, Y, Zhang, Y, Poulton, SW & Mills, BJW 2025, 'Author Correction: Early Triassic super-greenhouse climate driven by vegetation collapse', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 9573. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65816-7

Letter

Wang, Y, Lu, J, Yang, M, Vervoort, P, Zhou, K, Yager, J, Greene, S, Sun, R, Yang, Y, Dai, S, Shao, L & Hilton, J 2025, 'Two episodes of Gzhelian (latest Carboniferous) volcanism immediately predate Asselian (early Permian) cooling and glaciation', Global and Planetary Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105129

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