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David L. Dufeau, M.S.
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biological Sciences
dd299405@ohio.edu
135 Life Sciences Building
740-593-0784 |
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The evolution of paratympanic
sinuses in birds, crocodilians, and dinosaurs
My research interests are centered
around the evolution of pneumatic sinuses and their interactions with
and influence upon surrounding structural and sensory systems. Of
particular interest to me are the very large paratympanic (middle-ear)
sinuses that Birds and crocodilians possess — it is unclear how or why
these two groups evolved this trait. I am involved in a research
program investigating the evolution of paratympanic sinuses in all of
Archosauria (the group comprising birds and crocodilians today and
dinosaurs and other extinct groups in the past), and I am working to
understand the evolutionary changes that culminated in the modern
condition. I have a number of goals for this program including: (1)
accurately reconstructing paratympanic sinuses in fossil skulls by the
identification of bony signatures that indicate the presence, form, and
extent of the sinuses; (2) Using the bony signatures of the sinuses to
examine the pattern of sinus evolution in archosaurs in a phylogenetic
context to determine which changes in sinus structure are homologous;
(3) Plotting evolutionary changes in sinus structures alongside
potential functional or ecological shifts on a phylogenetic tree to
assess any significant correlations. |
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Ohio
University
Department of Biological Sciences
Irvine Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701
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