Evolutionary Palaeoecology of End-Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates

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The Late Cretaceous period of North America (~8566 million years ago) witnessed an explosion in the diversity of dinosaurs and other vertebrates (animals with backbones), followed by a decline in some groups leading up to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that killed the non-avian dinosaurs. Biological processes, like niche partitioning (differential resource use), and environmental processes, like sea level and climate change, are among the factors that have been invoked to account for the rise and subsequent fall of this biodiversity. My research addresses these important issues using a threefold approach: (1) The identification of fossil species and their evolutionary relationships, (2) The placement of fossil species in the context of time and space, and (3) The study of past influences on fossil community structure and evolution. My research is collaborative in nature, and involves experts from throughout the world. It also presents Canadian students with the opportunity to do fieldwork in the classic badlands of Alberta, and to make innovative advancements in the disciplines of ecology and evolution. My research program has important implications for pressing conservation issues today, particularly those regarding long-term species coexistence and the effects of climate and sea-level change on biodiversity, which concern Canadians and the world at large.