I hold a background in geology with a specialization in vertebrate paleontology, where I explore the fascinating intersection of geology and biology. My academic research centered on paleoecology, investigating how ancient organisms interacted with one another and their environments. By comparing these findings to modern animals and ecosystems, I developed a deep understanding of contemporary marine systems. This expertise has inspired my transition into nonprofit leadership in coastal conservation, where I leverage insights from the past to drive meaningful change for the future.
About Me
Water is my passion…which has led me to live two lives. I spent 25 years building a career in academia as a vertebrate paleontologist. While working as geology professor and museum curator, I researched ancient marine ecosystems of Kansas that thrived in the greenhouse conditions of the Age of Dinosaurs. Studying ancient and modern marine life led me to realized I wanted – and needed – to do more. I now apply my science, education, and leadership skills to modern-day environmental problems, focused on restoring the Indian River Lagoon of east Florida.
Latest News:
Before the dinosaur extinction lived birds with teeth.
Birds are dinosaurs. Because the ancestors of all birds were dinosaurs, living birds still have many dinosaurian characters like feathers, three-fingered hands, modified wrist bones, and incubating eggs on nests. Birds (also referred to as avian dinosaurs by paleontologists) that lived alongside (non-avian) dinosaurs had even more dinosaurian features. Like teeth. Although all toothed birds…
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A Place in Conservation for Paleobiology
Conservation is at the forefront of many people’s minds – especially those working in natural history fields. Earth is in the midst of a major biodiversity crisis with extinction rates estimated between 1000 and 10,000 times background (“normal”) extinction rates (source: World Wildlife Fund). Unlike other mass extinction events like the one that decimated dinosaur…
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Sea Turtles in Kansas?!
Protostega was a large sea turtle the lived in the ocean that covered Kansas and central North America 80 million years ago. New research by FHSU paleontologist Dr. Laura Wilson shows that the bone tissue microstructure (osteohistology) of Protostega reveals growth patterns similar to modern leatherback sea turtles (the largest sea turtles alive today) with…
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Laura E. Wilson, Ph.D. 