DoctorVanesa De Pietri

I have a background in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, and vertebrate comparative anatomy. I use the fossil record to determine the past composition of vertebrate faunas, focusing on research questions on the palaeobiology, functional morphology, phylogenetic relationships, and other aspects of the evolutionary history of different lineages. My specialty is birds, particularly seabirds and shorebirds, and I am especially interested in their early evolutionary history, before and after the Cretaceous-Paleogene Mass Extinction Event. My work is currently focused on understanding the links between patterns in avian evolution, ecology, and extinction, and environmental changes driven by climate fluctuations during the pre-Quaternary (before 2.5 million years ago), particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand.