Introduction
- Title: Postdoctoral fellow, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada
- Expertise. Palaeoherpetology, amphibians, comparative anatomy, systematics
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1755-3018).
- Involvement in NoCTURN: Findability and Basic & Applied Research
Background and Career Journey
My academic journey began within a B.Sc. in Geosciences with Honors at Sorbonne University in Paris, France, where I was introduced to the world of paleontology through the eyes of a scientist. It deepened my interest into evolution and anatomy, especially as I moved to a master’s degree in Evolution and Palaeontology at the same University in Paris. During these two years, I was able to produce my first scientific contributions, though two research projects, including one on early amphibians that not only sparked my interest in this large group, but was also my first experience with the use of CT scanning and 3D models for research in paleontology.
My PhD did not take me very far from Sorbonne University, as I crossed a garden to work in the National Museum of Natural History (Paris, France) on the chronology of anuran diversification. I worked with European and North African specimens, mainly isolated elements but also some exceptionally preserved frog mummies from the Eocene of France. During my PhD, I used the extensive dataset available on MorphoSource of African anuran taxa that were made by the Overt program (it was my first introduction to NoCTURN) to help me gather anatomical data for comparison with my cretaceous specimens and prepare dataset for phylogenetic analyses, helping to identify some of the oldest neobatrachians (“true” frogs, 96% of modern species) of the continent. I decided to continue building on these findings by expanding my map by studying the ecological diversity of anurans in North America through the Cretaceous – Palaeogene during the postdoctoral fellowship I started at the end of this fall at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller (Alberta, Canada).
In addition, I have also expanded my expertise to the other members of the ‘small’ herpetofauna in France, to help increase our knowledge of the past diversity in my home country, and present to the public another facet of the past ecosystems, often shadowed by dinosaurs and mammals.
Involvement with NoCTURN
I joined NoCTURN at the beginning of this spring, and I was recently able, thanks to my arrival in North America, to be more engaged.
Passion for the Field
I have a deep passion for unveiling the past diversity of amphibians and their interactions with their environment and other groups, trying to understand how they thrived or died across deep time. Using modern analyses and studies on amphibians’ reaction to current climate change and sudden environmental changes is essential to better grasp their past reaction and evolution across both large-scale and regional extinction crises.
I am also passionate about fieldwork, as it is always an opportunity, in addition to finding new specimens and new localities, to see interesting landscapes and regions, and also to be with friends from across the country or globe.
Advice for Emerging Researchers
“The more the merrier”. Research can sometimes, especially for young researchers, feel very lonely, as they try to become known in their field. I encourage them to try to work with others, in particular other young researchers as often as they can. Having a good network of “friends/collaborators” that are at the same “level” in their academic journey is very helpful to better navigate the hurdles of the early-career research journey, and not feel like the only one in the world; going to conferences also helps you to find new people more easily. On a professional level, exploring new methods or subjects can help you to build a “better profile” which can be essential when applying for future academic positions.