Avian evolution - from the earliest passerines to the largest eagles

New Zealand is host to an astonishing array of bird species with unique characteristics. Among these include the world's oldest group of perching birds, a lineage that split off from their relatives between 50-60 million years ago. The New Zealand wrens include 4 of the 5 known flightless perching birds, and this otherwise rare trait arose independently between 2-3 times in this group! New Zealand is also host to a variety of "island giants", among which was counted the largest eagle that ever lived, the Haast's eagle | pouakai. This raptor was up to 15x larger than it's closest relative, from whom it split 2.5 million years ago. Using genomic data, I aim to investigate the genetic mechanisms behind the evolution of these trait, contributing not only to our knowledge of New Zealand's avifauna but also to the molecular mechanisms of trait evolution.

Climate change risk in New Zealand terrestrial vertebrates

New Zealand has recently been identified as a hotspot for biodiversity loss in the face on future climate change. Anthropogenic climate change is a pressing global issue, but Earth has experienced significant climate change before, during the Ice Age. An isolated landmass, species living in NZ could only "shelter in place" during those huge environmental shifts. The Ice Age may have served as an extinction filter, and only species capable of coping with extreme climate change would have survived to the present day. Our understanding of direct climate impacts on many of our native species remains poor. We are therefore creating an extinction risk atlas for NZ native species which directly models the effects of climate change (about which the nation can do little) and contrasts it with extinction risks as a result of other factors such as mammalian predation, land use changes, and habitat loss (which the nation can directly control).

Evolutionary impacts of human settlement on New Zealand herpetofauna

Humans have had significant impacts on environments everywhere; New Zealand's herpetofauna is not exempt, but these impacts remain understudied. What were the prehuman distribution and morphology of geckos and skinks prior to human settlement and anthropogenic habitat modification? 

The fossil record of these organisms can provide useful context, but no clear morphological method exists to discriminate extinct gecko or skink species. We aim to develop geometric morphometric measurements to enable species identification. Then, we will explore the evolutionary history of these species using ancient DNA to determine whether 1) one or more species went extinct and/or 2) morphological diversity was lost following human arrival. Comparison of extinct and extant material and sequences will allow us to determine extinction rates and the extent to which living species are composed of morphologically relict populations.

Climate change and changing distributions: past, present, and future 

Although a species' range is a result of many factors, climate is a key component in delimiting distributions. This is particularly relevant today due to the impacts humans have had on the climate, but great climate change was also associated with the beginning and end of the Pleistocene. What can prehistoric climate change tell us about the responses of animals to the climate change of today? I combine ecological and climate data to develop models that aim to describe how the distributions of New Zealand birds, frogs, skinks, and geckos have changed, and will continue to change, over time.

Prehistoric demographics of New Zealand's birds