There’s a Dinosaur in My Tree: A Journey of Birds from the Mesozoic to Today
To understand modern birds, we need to go back in time, way back in time. In fact we need to go all the way back to the end of the Permian around 252 million years ago, when a mass extinction event wiped out most life on earth. The aftermath saw the expansion of reptiles, and the evolution of a group of reptiles that we call the dinosaurs today. Dinosaurs continued to develop during the Triassic period, but really came into their own after another mass extinction that separated the Triassic and Jurassic periods. One group of dinosaurs in particular are relevant to the story of birds: the Theropoda. In this webinar we look at what the world was like during the Mesozoic when birds began to emerge some 145 million years ago, and look at the evolution of the modern theropods that we call birds.
Additional Details
Webinar link - https://meet.google.com/cxw-nrjn-xtm
Meeting ID - Not applicable
Passcode - Not applicable
Event platform - google_meet
Organizer
Derek was biology professor for over 20 years, and discovered several species new to science (not birds, alas), and even has a species named after him. His studies have encompassed ecology, systematics and phylogeny, as well as technology in education. He has published around 80 academic papers, and more than 100 magazine articles in which he has brought science and nature to lay persons. He has also been a university Deputy Vice Chancellor, held various technology roles in university and business, and is a technology geek. Derek is an accomplished nature photographer on land and under water, with his photos appearing in over 20 books, hundreds of magazines, several mobile apps, and museum exhibits. Today he works in FinTech, but prefers to spend time photographing birds and unravelling their stories so he can re-tell them to humans. He is co-founder and looks after the technology and arrangements for Learn-the-Birds.