Alex Dececchi

The Mentorship Fund to Support Faculty-Student Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities, Funding Agency: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown — 2018

William E. White Postdoctoral Fellowship in Geological Sciences, Funding Agency: Queens University — 2015-2017

Doctoral Research funding, Fonds de Recherche et Technologies, Funding Agency: Province of Quebec — 2008-2010

Delise Allison Graduate travel award, Funding Agency: McGill University — 2010

Northern Scientific Training Program, Funding Agency: Canadian Government — 2009

Northern Scientific Training Program, Funding Agency: Canadian Government — 2007

Northern Scientific Training Program, Funding Agency: Canadian Government — 2006

John B. Sampson Award, Funding Agency: Queen’s University — 2001

Publications

Pittman, M, Kaye, T.G., Wang, X., Zheng, X., Dececchi, T.A., Navalon, G and S.A. Hartman. Preserved soft Anatomy confirms shoulder-powered upstroke of early theropod flyers, reveals enhanced upstroke and explains sternum loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119 (47) e2205476119

Gardnier, N.M and T.A. Dececchi, 2022. Flight and echolocation evolved once in Chiroptera: comments on The evolution of flight in bats: a novel hypothesis. Mammal Review https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12286.

Pittman, M. Habib, M.B., Dececchi, T.A., Larsson, H.C.E., Pei, R., Kaye, T.G., Norell, M.A., Brusatte, S.L and Z. Xing. 2021. Reply to Serrano and Chiappe. Current Biology. 31(8): R372-R373.

Pei, R., Pittman, M., Goloboff, P.A., Dececchi, T.A., Norell, M.A., Kaye, T.G., Larsson, H.C.E., Habib, M.B., Brusatte, S.L., and X. Xu. 2020. Potential for powered flight neared by most close avialan relatives, but few crossed its thresholds. Current Biology. 30(20): 4033-4046.

Dececchi, T.A., Habib, M.B., Larsson, H.C.E., Roy, A., Kaye, T.G., Wang, X., Zheng, X. and X. Xu. and Pittman, M. 2020 Aerodynamics show membranous-winged theropods were a poor gliding dead-end. IScience. 101574.

Dececchi, T.A., Mloszewska, A.M., Habib, M.B., Larsson, H.C.E and T.H. Holtz. 2020. The fast and the frugal: Using allometry and biomechanics to examine differential hunting strategies across theropod clades. PLoS One 15(5): e0223698.

Dececchi, T.A., Larsson, H.C.E., Pittman, M. and Habib, M.B. High flyer or high fashion?: A comparison of flight potential among small bodied paravians. 2020. Pennaraptoran theropod dinosaurs: past progress and new frontiers. M. Pittman and X. Xu. New York, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History: 295-320.

Pittman, M., Serrano, F., Field, D., Habib, M.B., Dececchi, T.A., Kaye, T.G. and H.C.E. Larsson Methods for studying early theropod flight. 2020. Proceedings of the International Pennaraptoran Dinosaur Symposium. Eds. M. Pittman and X. Xu. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History: 277-294.

Larsson, H.C.E., Habib, M.B., and T.A. Dececchi, T.A. 2020. Navigating the functional landscapes: A bird’s eye view of avian flight. Pennaraptoran theropod dinosaurs: past progress and new frontiers. M. Pittman and X. Xu. New York, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History: 321-322.

Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A., and R.W. Dalrymple. 2020. Cryogenian Aspidella from Northwestern Canada. Precambrian Research. 336: doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2019.105507.

Dahdul, W., Manda, P., Cui, H., Balhoff, J.P., Dececchi, T.A., Ibrahim, N., Lapp, H., Vision, T., and P.M. Mabee. 2018. Annotation of phenotypes using ontologies: a Gold Standard for the training and evaluation of natural language processing systems. Database. 2018, bay110.

Dececchi, T.A., Narbonne, G.M., Greentree, C. and M. Laflamme. 2018. Phylogenetic relationships among the Rangeomorpha: The importance of outgroup selection and implications for their diversification. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 55(11):1223-1239.

Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A., and R.W. Dalrymple. 2017. The ins and outs of Ediacaran discs. Precambrian Research. 300: 24-260.

Dececchi, T.A., Narbonne, G.M., Greentree, C. and M. Laflamme. 2017. Relating Ediacaran Fronds. Paleobiology. 43 (2): 171-180.

Dececchi, T.A., Larsson, H.C.E. and M.B. Habib. 2016. The wings before the bird: an evaluation of flapping-based locomotory hypotheses in bird antecedents. Peerj. 4:e2159.

Carrillo-Briceno, J.D., Cadena, E.A., Dececchi, T.A., Larsson, H.C.E. and T.Y Du. 2016. First record of a hybodont shark (Chondrichthyes: Hybodontifrmes) from the Lower Cretaceous of Colombia. Neotropical Biodiversity. 2(1): 81-86.

Dececchi, T.A., Mabee, P.M. and D. Blackburn. 2016. Data Sources for Trait Databases: Comparing the Phenomic Content of Monographs and Evolutionary Matrices. PLoS One. 11(5): e0155680.

Cui, H., Dahdul, W., Dececchi, T.A., Ibrahim, N., Mabee, P., Balhoff, J.P. and H. Gopalakrishnan. 2015 CharaParser+EQ: Performance Evaluation without Gold Standard. Proceedings of the 78th ASIS&T Annual Meeting: Information Science with Impact: Research in and for the Community. Article No. 20.

Dececchi, T.A., Balhoff, J.P., Lapp, H. and P.M. Mabee. 2015. Towards synthesizing our knowledge of morphology: using ontologies and machine reasoning to extract presence/absence evolutionary phenotypes across studies. Systematic Biology. 65(6): 936-952.

Dahdul, W., Dececchi, T.A., Ibrahim N, Lapp H and PM Mabee. 2015. Moving the mountain: Analysis of the effort required to transform comparative anatomy into computable anatomy. Database 2015: bay040.

Deans, A.R. et al. 2015. Finding our way through Phenotypes. PLoS Biology. 13(1), e1002033.

Accepted Manuscripts

Hone, D.W.E., Dececchi, T.A. and HCE Larsson. Diverse diets in small theropods - the Cretaceous feathered dinosaur Microraptor zhaoianus ate mammals. Accepted in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

Dececchi, T.A. and M. Pittman. 2021. 2 nd International Pennaraptoran Dionsaur Symposium (IPDS2): Theropod Flight Origins: Consensus, Contentions and Insights from Other Animal Groups Co-organisers and discussion leaders.

Dececchi, T.A., and N. Gardner. 2021 On the wings of changes: modeling the origins of pterosaurs. Northeast Natural History Conference

Dececchi, T.A., and N. Gardner. 2021. To the Sky and Back: The Natural History of flight and flightlessness. Special Session of the Northeast Natural History Conference. Co-organizer and session leader.

Dececchi, T.A., Bamforth, E. and H.C.E. Larsson. 2019. Running on Empty: Investigating the energetics of theropod predators and Community Structure of the Latest Cretaceous Frenchman Formation Ecosystem. Cretaceous and Beyond: Paleontology of the Western Interior.

Dececchi, T.A. and B. Dececchi. 2019. Active Learning Classrooms: Get Your Students Moving and Thinking. Second annual Pittsburgh Regional Faculty Symposium

Mortimer, M., Cau, A., Gardner, N., Dececchi, T.A. and D. Marjanović. 2018. Ornithoscelida, Phytodinosayria, Saurischa: Testing the effects of mis-scores in matrices in basal dinosaur phylogeny. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dececchi, T.A., Habib, M.B. and H.C.E. Larsson. 2018. Flights of fancy: Modeling powered flight versus gliding in the bizarre theropod Yi qi and its bearing on the question of the origin of flight across Pennaraptora. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Lippincott, K.E., McIntosh, L.E., Larsson, H.C.E. and T.A. Dececchi. 2018. Do epigenetics affect morphological characters and influence phylogenetic reconstructions in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Pittman, M., Goloboff, P.A., Dececchi, T.A., Norell, M.A., Kaye, T.G., Larsson, H.C.E., Habib, M.B., Brusatte, S.L., & Xu, X. Gradual build-up of powered flight potential among close avian relatives revealed by combing phylogenetic, aerodynamic, and anatomical data. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A. and R.W. Dalrymple. 2018. Cryogenian Aspidella from Northwestern Canada. 131st Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting.

T.A. Dececchi. 2018. The use of aerodynamic modelling to unravel the effects of powered flapping on the origin of avian flight. Conference on Bio-Propulsion of adaptive systems.

Lippincott, K.E., McIntosh, L.E., Larsson, H.C.E. and T.A. Dececchi. 2018. Epigenetic effects on morphological characters and its influence on phylogenetic reconstructions in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. 6 th Annual Conference of Canadian Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dececchi, T.A. 2018. Dragons or flying squirrels: modeling the potential for powered flight versus gliding in the bizarre theropod Yi qi. 6 th Annual Conference of Canadian Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dececchi, T.A. Larsson, H.C.E and M.B. Habib. 2018. Once, twice, three times ….maybe?: investigating the origins of flight potential within maniraptoran theropods. International Pennaraptoran Dinosaur Symposium

Dececchi, T.A., Greentree, C. and G.M. Narbonne. 2017. Who are you?: Investigating the phylogenetic relationships among bilateral Ediacaran taxa. 130th Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting.

Dececchi, T.A. 2017. An arm and a leg: what the limbs can tell us about the ecology of the origin of flight. 1 st Annual Three Rivers Evolution Event.

Handyside, E., Tapscott, M., Narbonne, G.M., Tahara, R., Larsson, H.C.E and T.A. Dececchi. 2017. Amber and Ambiguity: A lizard’s tale. 77th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Peters, S., Habib, M., Sheppard, K., Rival, D. and T.A. Dececchi. 2017. It’s all in the wrist….or is it: The use of aerodynamic modeling to unravel the origins of avian flight. 77th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dececchi, T.A., Narbonne, G.M., Laflamme, M. and C. Greentree. Relating Ediacaran fronds. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical association of Mineralogy Annual Meeting.

Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A. and R.W. Dalrymple. The ins and outs of Ediacaran discs. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical association of Mineralogy Annual Meeting.

Peters, S., Habib, M.B., Sheppard, K., Rival, D. and T.A. Dececchi. 2017. A wish for wings that work: The use of aerodynamic modelling to unravel the origins of avian flight. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical association of Mineralogy Annual Meeting.

Tapscott, M., Handyside, E., Narbonne, G.M., Keyser, K., Tahara, R., Larsson, H.C.E and T.A. Dececchi. 2017. Unknown knowns: A multidiscipline approach investigation previously unknown amber samples and their paleo-ecological implications. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical association of Mineralogy Annual Meeting.

Dececchi, T.A., Narbonne, G.M., Laflamme, M. and C. Greentree. Relating Ediacaran fronds. International Symposium on the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition 2017.

Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A. and R.W. Dalrymple. The ins and outs of Ediacaran discs. International Symposium on the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition 2017.