For my Master's thesis I am looking at modular disparity in actinopterygian (ray-finned fish) pectoral fins. Paired fins have a 400 million year history, which has resulted in a wide diversity of taxa and morphology. Through two-dimensional geometric morphometrics I will be describing disparity and the evolution of modular morphology of the fin. This will not only yield information on overall fin disparity but also on the relative changes of the individual modules. Linear and least squared parsimony methods of ancestral state reconstruction provide coordinates of nodal landmarks that can be then analyzed in an ordination generated by a thin plate spline analysis. I am also interested in chondrichthyan fin development, and palaeophid snakes.
Office: Room 304, Redpath Museum
Email: sylvie.tissandier
mail.mcgill.ca
Phone: (514) 398-4086 ext 4085
Fax: (514) 398-3185
