Dr Neil Bell
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Dr Neil Bell, Bryologist
Backround and Research Interests
I am a bryologist specialising in phylogenetics, taxonomy and biodiversity. Much of my research is focussed on quantifying, understanding and promoting Scotland's globally important bryophyte flora.
I joined RBGE in 2014 after spending nine years in Helsinki, Finland, studying the phylogeny and taxonomy of the moss class Polytrichopsida and the evolution of pleurocarpous mosses. My work includes research into the evolution of key traits underpinning the success of specific bryophyte groups. I'm fascinated by the interactions that occur at nested spatial and temporal scales between plant form, evolutionary convergence and biogeography, and the uneasy interface these create between phylogeny and taxonomy.
Despite being perhaps the best studied in the world, Scotland's bryophyte flora is greatly underappreciated by non-specialists. Temperate and boreal-montane oceanic communities of the type we have in Scotland have parallels in only a few other widely separated regions of limited extent globally, creating networks of relationship over vast distances within which disjunction and convergence can be hard to distinguish. Only by studying Scotland's bryophyte flora in a global context and employing techniques such as phylogenetic analysis and DNA barcoding can we reliably identify species boundaries and quantify evolutionary distinctiveness, this being essential for informing meaningful conservation strategies.
I am editor-in-chief of Journal of Bryology.
Email: nbell@rbge.org.uk
Address: Neil Bell, Research Scientist (Bryology), 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK.
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Dr Neil Bell
Further information
- Publications
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Papers in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters
2021
Van Rooy, J., N. E. Bell, T. A. Hedderson, J. Flores & J. Hyvönen. 2021. Notoligotrichum synonymised with Atrichopsis (Polytrichaceae, Bryophyta), with two new species from South Africa. Taxon https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12642
Bell, N. E., I. U. Kariyawasam, J. Flores & J. Hyvönen. 2021. The diversity of the Polytrichopsida – a review. Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution https://www.mapress.com/bde/article/view/bde.43.1.8
Blockeel, T. L., N. E. Bell, M. O. Hill, N. G. Hodgetts, D.G. Long, S. L. Pilkington & G. P. Rothero. 2021. A new checklist of the bryophytes of Britain and Ireland, 2020. Journal of Bryology https://doi.org/10.1080/03736687.2020.1860866
Kariyawasam, I. U., M. J. Price, N. E. Bell, D. G. Long, R. R. Mill & J. Hyvönen. 2021. Unearthing a lectotype for Polytrichum commune Hedw. (Bryophyta, Polytrichaceae). Taxon https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12444
2020
Flagmeier, M., J. Squirrell, M. Woodhead, D. G. Long, N. E. Bell, J. Russell, W. Powell & P. M. Hollingsworth. 2020. Globally rare oceanic-montane liverworts with disjunct distributions: evidence for long-distance dispersal. Biodiversity and Conservation 29: 3245-3264.
Hodgetts, N. G., L. Söderström, T. L. Blockeel, S. Caspari, M. S. Ignatov, N.A. Konstantinova, N. Lockhart, B. Papp, C. Schröck, M. Sim-Sim, D. Bell, N. E. Bell, H. H. Blom, M. A. Bruggeman-Nannenga, M. Brugués, J. Enroth, K. I.Flatberg, R. Garilleti, L. Hedenäs, D. T. Holyoak, V. Hugonnot, I. Kariyawasam, H. Köckinger, J. Kučera, F. Lara & R. D. Porley. 2020. An annotated checklist of bryophytes of Europe, Macaronesia and Cyprus. Journal of Bryology 42: 1-116.
2019
Hodgetts, N. et al., (incl. N. E. Bell). 2019. A miniature world in decline: European Red List of Mosses, Liverworts and Hornworts. Brussels, Belgium: IUCN.
Liu Y., M. G. Johnson, C. J. Cox, R. Medina, N. Devos, A. Vanderpoorten, L. Hedenäs, N. E. Bell, J. R. Shevock, B. Aguero, D. Quandt, N. J. Wickett, A. J. Shaw & B. Goffinet. 2019. Resolution of the ordinal phylogeny of mosses using targeted exons from organellar and nuclear genomes. Nature Communications, 10: 1485, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09454-w
Callaghan, D. A., N. E. Bell & L. L. Forrest. 2019. Taxonomic notes on Weissia subgenus Astomum, including Weissia wilsonii D.A.Callaghan, a new species from Europe. Journal of Bryology, 41: 135-148, https://doi.org/10.1080/03736687.2018.1551590
Bell, N. E. & M. Ignatov. 2019. Placing the regionally threatened moss Orthodontium gracile in the big picture – Phylogeny, genome incongruence and anthropogenic dispersal in the order Orthodontiales. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 134: 186-199, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.12.024
2018
Huttunen, S., N. E. Bell & L. Hedenäs. 2018. The evolutionary diversity of mosses – taxonomic heterogeneity and its ecological drivers. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689.2018.1482434
Bell, N. E. & M. Ignatov. 2018. Orthodontiales. Pp. 518-523 in: Ignatov M.S. (ed.), Moss Flora of Russia. Volume 4. Bartramiales – Aulacomniales. KMK, Moscow, Russia.
Kariyawasam, U., D. G. Long & N. E. Bell. 2018. A Taxonomic Revision of Oligotrichum Lam. & DC. (Polytrichaceae) in the Sino-Himalaya. Journal of Bryology, https://doi.org/10.1080/03736687.2018.1478651
2017
Coudert, Y, N. E. Bell, C. Edelin & C. J. Harrison CJ. 2017. Multiple innovations underpinned branching form diversification in mosses. New Phytologist, 10.1111/nph.14553.
Bell, N. E., J. Hyvönen, K.-Y. Yao & W.-Z. Ma. 2017. Description and phylogenetic investigation of Pogonatum shevockii N.E.Bell & Hyvönen (Polytrichaceae), a new East Asian species with a unique leaf morphology. Journal of Bryology 39: 235-246.
Ellis, L. T., O. M. Afonina, R. L. Andriamiarisoa, H. Bednarek-Ochyra, B. Cykowska-Marzencka, M. Stryjak-Bogacka, N. E. Bell, M. Boiko, D. A. Callaghan, P. Campisi, M. G. Dia, M. L. Marino, F. Provenzano, J. Eckstein, J. Enroth, P. Erzberger, T. Ezer, M. L. Gargano, E. Ginzburg, P. Górski, S. R. Gradstein, C. Reeb, C. Hannoire, M. Infante, I. Jukonienė, E. V. Kushnevskaya, M. Lebouvier, J. Nagy, A. Opmanis, V. Plášek, Z. Skoupá, M. S. Sabovljević, A. D. Sabovljević, J. R. Shevock, D. K. Singh, S. Majumdar, M. Skudnik, A. Uselienė, G. Venturella, M. Węgrzyn, P. Wietrzyk, Y.-J. Yoon, J. H. Kim & E. Yücel. 2017. New national and regional bryophyte records, 53. Journal of Bryology 39: 368-387.
Bell, N. E.. 2017. Editorial. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 74: 109-110.
2016
Daniels, E. D., K. C. Kariyappa, J.Hyvönen & N. E. Bell. 2016. The first Indian record of Pogonatum marginatum Mitt. (Polytrichaceae) from the Western Ghats. Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution 38: 41-46.
2015
Bell, N. E., I. U. Kariyawasam, T. A. J. Hedderson & J. Hyvönen. 2015. Delongia gen. nov., a new genus of Polytrichaceae (Bryophyta) with two disjunct species in East Africa and the Himalaya. Taxon 64: 893–910.I.
Ivanova, E. I., N. E. Bell, O. I. Kuznetsova, E. A. Ignatova & M. S. Ignatov. 2015. The genus Polytrichum sect. Aporotheca (Polytrichaceae) in Russia. Arctoa 24: 67-78.
2014
Bell, N. E., J. L. Boore, B. D. Mishler & J. Hyvönen. 2014. Organellar genomes of the four-toothed moss, Tetraphis pellucida. BMC Genomics 15:383.
Ivanova, E. I., N. E. Bell, O. I. Kuznetsova, H. Lee, M. Park & M. S. Ignatov. 2014. The genus Polytrichastrum (Polytrichaceae) in Russia. Arctoa 23: 164-184.
Poczai, P., N. E. Bell & J. Hyvönen. 2014. Imre Festetics and the Sheep Breeders’ Society of Moravia: Mendel’s Forgotten “Research Network”. PloS Biology 12: e1001772.
2013
Poczai, P., I. Varga, M. Laos, A. Cseh, N. E. Bell, J. Valkonen & J. Hyvönen. 2013. Advances in plant gene-targeted and functional markers: a review. Plant Methods 9:6.
2012
Bell, N. E., A. E. Newton & J. Hyvönen. 2012. Epiphytism and generic endemism in the Hypnodendrales: Cyrtopodendron, Franciella and macro-morphological plasticity. Taxon 61: 498-514.
Bell, N. E., A. E. Newton & J. Hyvönen. 2012. New observations on Pterobryella (Müll.Hal.) A.Jaeger and Cyrtopodendron M.Fleisch. In New Caledonia. Journal of Bryology 34: 306-308.
Huttunen, S., N. E. Bell, M. Stech & D. Quandt. 2012. Bryophyte Tree Of Life – the current state of phylogenetic reconstruction in the mosses (Bryophyta). Journal of Bryology 34: 157-159.
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2012. Gametophytic simplicity in Laurasian and Gondwanan Polytrichopsida – the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Oligotrichum morphology. Journal of Bryology 34: 160-172.
Huttunen, S., N. E. Bell, V. K. Bobrova, V. Buchbender, W. R. Buck, C. J. Cox, B. Goffinet, L. Hedenäs, B. Ho, M. S. Ignatov, O. Kuznetsova, I. A. Milyutina, A. E. Newton, S. Olsson, L. Pokorny, J. A. Shaw, M. Stech, A. Troitsky, A. Vanderpoorten & D. Quandt. 2012. Disentangling knots of rapid evolution: origin and diversification of the moss order Hypnales. Journal of Bryology 34: 187-211.
2011
Poczai, P., I. Varga, N. E. Bell & J. Hyvönen. 2011. Genetic diversity assessment of bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara, Solanaceae) germplasm using conserved DNA-derived polymorphism and intron-targeting markers. Annals of Applied Biology 159: 141-153.
2010
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2010. A phylogenetic circumscription of Polytrichastrum (Polytrichaceae): reassessment of sporophyte morphology supports molecular phylogeny. American Journal of Botany 97: 566-578.
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2010. Phylogeny of the moss class Polytrichopsida (Bryophyta): generic-level structure and incongruent gene trees. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55: 381-398.
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2010. Molecular evidence for the phylogenetic position of the New Caledonian endemic genus Parisia. Journal of Bryology 32: 303-305.
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2010. A dendroid form of Pogonatum cirratum (Polytrichopsida, Bryophyta) from Mt. Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia). Acta Bryolichenologica Asiatica3: 39-45.
2008
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyvönen. 2008. Rooting the Polytrichopsida: the phylogenetic position of Atrichopsis and the independent origin of the polytrichopsid peristome. Pp. 227-239 in: H. Mohamed and B. B. Baki (eds.) Bryology in the New Millennium. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
2007
Bell, N. E., N. Pedersen & A. E. Newton. 2007. Ombronesus stuvensis, a new genus and species of the Ptychomniaceae (Bryophyta) from south west Chile. Taxon 56: 887-896.
Bell, N. E., D. Quandt, T. J. O’Brien & A. E. Newton. 2007. Taxonomy and phylogeny in the earliest diverging pleurocarps: square holes and bifurcating pegs. The Bryologist 110: 533-560.
Bell, N. E. & P. V. York. 2007. Vetiplanaxis pyrrhobryoides, a new fossil moss genus and species from Middle Cretaceous Burmese amber. The Bryologist 110: 514-520.
Quandt, D., N. E. Bell & M. Stech. 2007. Unravelling the knot: the Pulchrinodaceae fam. nov. (Bryales). Nova Hedwigia Beiheft 131: 21-39
Bell, N. E. & A. E. Newton. 2007. Pleurocarpy in the rhizogoniaceous grade. Pp. 41-64 in: A. E. Newton & R. Tangney (eds.) Pleurocarpous Mosses: Systematics and Evolution. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Newton, A. E., N. Wikstrom & N. E. Bell. 2007. Dating the diversification of the pleurocarpous mosses. Pp. 337-366 in: A. E. Newton & R. Tangney (eds.) Pleurocarpous Mosses: Systematics and Evolution. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
2006
Hill, M. O., N. E. Bell, M. A. Bruggeman-Nannenga, M. Brugués, M. J. Cano, J. Enroth, K. I. Flatberg, J.-P. Frahm, M. T. Gallego, R. Garilleti, J. Guerra, L. Hedenäs, D. T. Holyoak, J. Hyvönen, M. S. Ignatov, F. Lara, V. Mazimpaka, J. Muñoz & L. Söderström. 2006. An annotated checklist of the mosses of Europe and Macaronesia. Journal of Bryology 28:198-267.
2005
Bell, N. E. & A. E. Newton. 2005. The paraphyly of Hypnodendron and the phylogeny of related non-hypnanaean pleurocarpous mosses inferred from chloroplast and mitochondrial sequence data. Systematic Botany 30: 34-51
2004
Bell, N. E. & A. E. Newton. 2004. Systematic studies of non-hypnanaean pleurocarps: establishing a phylogenetic framework for investigating the origins of pleurocarpy. In B. Goffinet, V. C. Hollowell & R. E. Magill (eds.), Molecular Systematics of Bryophytes. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 98: 290-319.
Reports
Hodgetts, N. (et al.) 2019. A miniature world in decline European Red List of Mosses, Liverworts and Hornworts. IUCN, Brussels, Belgium.
Callaghan, D., & N. E. Bell. 2017. Identity and taxonomy ofWeissia multicapsularis. Commissioned report.
Bell, N. E. & J. Cuvertino. 2003. Distribution and Diversity of Bryophytes in the Katalalixar National Reserve, Region XI, Chile. For the Biodiversity Aysén Project, a joint initiative between Raleigh International and Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF), Chile.
Bell, N. E. 2002. Potential Impact on the Bryophyte Flora of Maplehurst Wood SSSI of Current and Future Activities at Woodlands Farm, Hastings. Commissioned report.
Articles in non-peer reviewed periodicals
Bell, N E. 2018. The threatened Moss Orthodontium gracile. Much more than meets the eye (or even the microscope). The Botanics Magazine 71: 6-7.
Bell, N. E. 2017. Orthodontium in the UK: conservation value in a global context. Field Bryology 118: 24-25.
Bell, N. E. & J. Hyönen. 2014. Lehtisammalten makromorfologia – konvergenssia yksinkertaisissa alkiollisissa kasveissa. (Translastion: “Macromorphology in mosses: architectural convergence and phylogeny in simple land plants”). Luonnon Tutkija 4: 135-140.
Piippo, S., N. E. Bell, R. Fagersten, X. He, N. Kalinauskaite & T. Koponen. 2013. Suomen Sammalseuran syysretki Kalkkikalliolle ja Roosinmäelle Helsingin ja Vantaan rajalla 2012. Bryobrotherella 16: 23-36.
Piippo, S., N. E. Bell, R. Fagersten, X. He, N. Kalinauskaite & T. Koponen. 2013. Suomen Sammalseuran kevätretki Sipoonkorven Bakunkärriin 2012. Bryobrotherella 16: 1-7.
Enroth, J., N. E. Bell, M. von Cräutlein, X. He, S. Huttunen, J. Hyvönen, H. Korpelainen, S. Laaka-Lindberg, T. Laukka, M. Lehtonen, S. Olsson, S. Piippo, R. Ryömä, J. Valkonen, H. Vasander & R. Virtanen. 2011. Sammalten valtakunta. Luonnon Tutkija 115: 120-145.
Bell, N. E. 2010. The giant mosses of New Caledonia: a collecting trip, October-November 2008. Bryobrotherella 13: 32-40.
- Selected current projects
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Phylogenetic structure, biogeography and taxonomy of Scotland's oceanic-montane heath community ("mixed northern hepatic mat").
Taxonomy, phylogeny and species discovery in the Polytrichaceae (multiple collaborators).
Taxonomy of Austral pleurocarpous mosses and the evolution of pleurocarpy.
Conservation of Orthodontium gracile in the UK.
- Research group and teaching
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PhD
Isuru Kariyawasam (2021) - Phylogeny, Species Delimitation and Taxonomy in Polytrichum sect. Polytrichum (Polytrichaceae Schwӓgr.; Bryophyta). University of Edinburgh.
Current teaching
MSc Plant Taxonomy and Biodiversity - Bryophytes.
- Membership and editorial
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Editorial Roles
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Bryology
Societies and Committees
Chair of Publications Committee, British Bryological Society
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