Research Interests
My research primarily focuses on evolutionary and functional morphology of both living and extinct amniote vertebrates. I have a long-standing interest in the evolutionary and functional morphology of gekkonid lizards, with a concentration on the locomotor system. This has also led me into the areas of systematics and historical biogeography. Another ongoing area of investigation is in feeding mechanics and the evolutionary morphology of feeding systems. In this regard I have concentrated mainly on mammals. In a local context my laboratory has been involved with the basic biology and ecology of the amphibians and reptiles of Alberta. A third line of research relates to the study of the Cretaceous vertebrates of western North America. Such studies are carried out in conjunction with the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
Students interested in carrying out graduate work in my laboratory should have a strong background in either vertebrate morphology and systematics, or ecology (or both). My appointment as a research associate of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology provides excellent opportunity for the study of fossil vertebrates and fossil vertebrate communities.
Research Projects Currently in Progress
- Biology and ecology of gekkonid lizards
- Kinematics of locomotion in sprawling tetrapods
- Mechanical properties of the integument of amniotes
- Relative growth of squamate axial and appendicular components.
- Ecology and basic biology of the amphibians and reptiles of Alberta, including population declines.
- “Reptilian” paleobiology
- Mechanics of claw retraction in carnivores
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