Federation University celebrates 151 years of continuous
learning, teaching and research in Geosciences with a series of public
presentations exploring historical, archaeological, economic and social
influences associated with mining in central Victoria.
Bones from the Bush
and Beach - Dinosaurs of Australia, Dr Stephen Poropat, Federation University
Abstract: New Australian dinosaur discoveries are
continually being made in western Queensland and coastal Victoria and Stephen
is part of the chase to understand who they were and how they lived. Stephen outlines how he and other scientists use fossilised bones, footprints,
geology, maths and biology to identify dinosaurs, describe their behaviour and
reconstruct the complex long-lost ecosystems in which they lived. His talk focuses on a recent excavation where long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs lived
alongside their meat-eating cousins, early crocodiles, turtles, and fish with
lungs.
Biography: Stephen is a palaeontologist specialising in
Australian dinosaurs. His work is focused on rich 96-million-year-old fossil
beds of western Queensland where he and his colleagues have uncovered and identified
several new species unique to Australia. He considers questions around their
lifestyle, environment and death to understand the impact of changing climate
on their evolution.
Stephen
is a research associate at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, adjunct
researcher at Swinburne University and currently studying science teaching at
Federation University.