Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: Postnatal ontogenetic patterns within the Avialae (Dinosauria, Theropoda)

The aim of the project is to analyse ontogenetic changes in modern birds in the context of phylogeny, ecology and modes of development. By comparing them with fossil protobirds and predatory dinosaurs, the project investigates the role of heterochronic developmental shifts in the origin of birds.

The origins of modern birds (Aves) date back to the Late Cretaceous. As the only line of dinosaurs to have survived the K-Pg mass extinction, they have developed a remarkable taxonomic, morphological and ecological diversity. However, the evolutionary history of birds extends back to the Upper Jurassic, a period traditionally associated with the famous Archaeopteryx from Germany.

Whilst earlier research focused primarily on the origin of birds and the evolution of flight, the diversity and development of postnatal ontogeny – that is, individual development after hatching – is significantly less well understood. This knowledge is, however, crucial for assessing the influence of potential heterochronies – that is, temporal shifts in developmental processes – on the origin of birds.

The aim of this project is therefore to systematically document ontogenetic changes in modern birds and to analyse these in the context of their phylogenetic relationships, their ecology and their different modes of development. The findings will then be applied to fossil protobirds and predatory dinosaurs. By comparing ontogenetic and phylogenetic changes within the clade, the project will investigate the extent to which the origin of birds was shaped by heterochronic developmental shifts.