Geology

Contact Us Department of Geology
Museum Building
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

View the contact page for more contact and location information

earth@tcd.ie
Dr. Emma Dunne

Dr. Emma Dunne

Assistant Professor in Palaeontology, Geology

https://emmadunne.github.io/

Biography

Emma's research aims to understand how environmental, geological, and anthropogenic factors have shaped biodiversity through deep-time. She is particularly interested in understanding how past climate change impacted vertebrates (especially amphibians and reptiles), and how looking at past patterns can help us better understand the long-term impacts of the current climate crisis on Earth's biodiversity. Some of her recent and current work includes investigating how climate change influenced the evolution and diversity of dinosaurs, examining how the earliest land vertebrates (tetrapods) to emerge onto land were impacted by global rainforest collapse, and performing data-driven analyses of how ethical issues and the legacy of colonialism influence reconstructions of past biodiversity. Before joining Trinity in 2025, Emma was an Akademische Rätin (Assistant professor) at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany. Prior to that, she completed postdoctoral research and her PhD in Earth Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. She graduated from a MSc in Taxonomy and Biodiversity, based at Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum and before that, completed a BA in Natural Sciences with a specialism in Zoology at Trinity College Dublin.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • Davide Foffa, Emma M. Dunne, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Richard J. Butler, Nicholas C. Fraser, Stephen L. Brusatte, Alexander Farnsworth, Daniel J. Lunt, Paul J. Valdes, Stig Walsh, Paul M. Barrett, Scleromochlus and the early evolution of Pterosauromorpha, Nature, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Emma M. Dunne, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Paul P. Stewens, Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein, Khin Zaw, Ethics, law, and politics in palaeontological research: The case of Myanmar amber, Communications Biology, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Juan Carlos Cisneros, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Aline M. Ghilardi, Emma M. Dunne, Felipe L. Pinheiro, Omar Rafael Regalado Fernández, Marcos A. F. Sales, Rubén A. Rodríguez-de la Rosa, Adriana Y. Miranda-Martínez, Sergio González-Mora, Renan A. M. Bantim, Flaviana J. de Lima, Jason D. Pardo, Digging deeper into colonial palaeontological practices in modern day Mexico and Brazil, Royal Society Open Science, 9, (3), 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Nussaïbah B. Raja, Emma M. Dunne, Aviwe Matiwane, Tasnuva Ming Khan, Paulina S. Nätscher, Aline M. Ghilardi, Devapriya Chattopadhyay, Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Susannah C. R. Maidment, Andrey G. Sennikov, Martín D. Ezcurra, Emma M. Dunne, David J. Gower, Brandon P. Hedrick, Luke E. Meade, Thomas J. Raven, Dmitriy I. Paschchenko, Richard J. Butler, The postcranial skeleton of the erythrosuchid archosauriform Garjainia prima from the Early Triassic of European Russia, Royal Society Open Science, 7, (12), 2020, p201089Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Roger A. Close, Roger B. J. Benson, John Alroy, Matthew T. Carrano, Terri J. Cleary, Emma M. Dunne, Philip D. Mannion, Mark D. Uhen, Richard J. Butler, The apparent exponential radiation of Phanerozoic land vertebrates is an artefact of spatial sampling biases, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287, (1924), 2020, p20200372Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Richard J. Butler, Andrey G. Sennikov, Emma M. Dunne, Martin D. Ezcurra, Brandon P. Hedrick, Susannah C. R. Maidment, Luke E. Meade, Thomas J. Raven, David J. Gower, Cranial anatomy and taxonomy of the erythrosuchid archosauriform `Vjushkovia triplicostata" Huene, 1960, from the Early Triassic of European Russia, Royal Society Open Science, 6, (11), 2019, p191289Journal Article, 2019, DOI
  • Emma M. Dunne, Roger A. Close, David J. Button, Neil Brocklehurst, Daniel D. Cashmore, Graeme T. Lloyd, Richard J. Butler, Diversity change during the rise of tetrapods and the impact of the `Carboniferous rainforest collapse", Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285, (1872), 2018, p20172730Journal Article, 2018, DOI
  • Brocklehurst, Neil, Dunne, Emma M., Cashmore, Daniel D., Fr"bisch, J"rg, Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea, Nature Communications, 9, (1), 2018Journal Article, 2018, DOI
  • Close, Roger A., Benson, Roger B. J., Alroy, John, Behrensmeyer, Anna K., Benito, Juan, Carrano, Matthew T., Cleary, Terri J., Dunne, Emma M., Mannion, Philip D., Uhen, Mark D., Butler, Richard J., Diversity dynamics of Phanerozoic terrestrial tetrapods at the local-community scale, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, (4), 2019, p590-597Journal Article, 2019, DOI
  • Dunne, Emma M., Farnsworth, Alexander, Greene, Sarah E., Lunt, Daniel J., Butler, Richard J., Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity, Palaeontology, 64, (1), 2021, p101-117Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Foffa, Davide, Dunne, Emma M., Chiarenza, Alfio Alessandro, Wynd, Brenen M., Farnsworth, Alexander, Lunt, Daniel J., Valdes, Paul J., Nesbitt, Sterling J., Kligman, Ben T., Marsh, Adam D., Parker, William G., Butler, Richard J., Fraser, Nicholas C., Brusatte, Stephen L., Barrett, Paul M., Climate drivers and palaeobiogeography of lagerpetids and early pterosaurs, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9, (8), 2025, p1359-1372Journal Article, 2025, DOI
  • Dunne, Emma M., Chattopadhyay, Devapriya, Dean, Christopher D., Dillon, Erin M., Dowding, Elizabeth M., Godoy, Pedro L., Smith, Jansen A., Raja, Nussaïbah B., Data equity in paleobiology: progress, challenges, and future outlook, Paleobiology, 51, (1), 2025, p237-249Journal Article, 2025, DOI
  • Paiva, Ana Laura S., Godoy, Pedro L., Dunne, Emma M., Farnsworth, Alexander, Valdes, Paul J., Lunt, Daniel J., Klein, Wilfried, Langer, Max C., Hsiou, Annie S., The role of climate on the emergence of giant caimanines (Crocodylia, Alligatoroidea) from the Miocene western Amazonian region, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 656, 2024, p112582Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Moreno, Raphael, Dunne, Emma M., Mujal, Eudald, Farnsworth, Alexander, Valdes, Paul J., Schoch, Rainer R., Impact of environmental barriers on temnospondyl biogeography and dispersal during the Middle"Late Triassic, Palaeontology, 67, (5), 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Arenas-Castro, Henry, Berdejo-Espinola, Violeta, Chowdhury, Shawan, Rodríguez-Contreras, Argelia, James, Aubrie R. M., Raja, Nussaïbah B., Dunne, Emma M., Bertolino, Sandro, Emidio, Nayara Braga, Derez, Chantelle M., Drobniak, Szymon M., Fulton, Graham R., Henao-Diaz, L. Francisco, Kaur, Avneet, Kim, Catherine J. S., Lagisz, Malgorzata, Medina, Iliana, Mikula, Peter, Narayan, Vikram P., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Oh, Rachel Rui Ying, Ovsyanikova, Ekaterina, Pérez-Hämmerle, Katharina-Victoria, Pottier, Patrice, Powers, Jennifer Sarah, Rodriguez-Acevedo, Astrid J., Rozak, Andes Hamuraby, Sena, Pedro H. A., Sockhill, Nicola J., Tedesco, Anazélia M., Tiapa-Blanco, Francisco, Tsai, Jo-Szu, Villarreal-Rosas, Jaramar, Wadgymar, Susana M., Yamamichi, Masato, Amano, Tatsuya, Academic publishing requires linguistically inclusive policies, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291, (2018), 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Schnetz, Lisa, Dunne, Emma M., Feichtinger, Iris, Butler, Richard J., Coates, Michael I., Sansom, Ivan J., Rise and diversification of chondrichthyans in the Paleozoic, Paleobiology, 50, (2), 2024, p271-284Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Lautenschlager, Stephan, Aston, Rune F., Baron, Jessica L., Boyd, John R., Bridger, Harold W. L., Carmona, Victor E. T., Ducrey, Thomas, Eccles, Olive, Gall, Morgan, Jones, Spencer A., Laker-Mchugh, Henry, Lawrenson, Daniel J., Mascarenhas, Kyle J., Mcschnutz, Emma, Quinn, Joshua D., Robson, Thomas E., Stöhr, Pierre W., Strahl, Edwin J., Tokeley, Ryan R., Weston, Fraser, Wallace, Klara J., Whitehouse, Tom, Bird, Charlotte M., Dunne, Emma M., Orbit size and estimated eye size in dinosaurs and other archosaurs and their implications for the evolution of visual capabilities, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 43, (3), 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Dunne, Emma M., Thompson, Samuel E. D., Butler, Richard J., Rosindell, James, Close, Roger A., Mechanistic neutral models show that sampling biases drive the apparent explosion of early tetrapod diversity, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, (9), 2023, p1480-1489Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Edgar, Kirsty M., Haller, Lewis, Cashmore, Daniel D., Dunne, Emma M., Butler, Richard J., Stratigraphic and geographic distribution of dinosaur tracks in the UK, Journal of the Geological Society, 180, (4), 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Dillon, Erin M., Dunne, Emma M., Womack, Tom M., Kouvari, Miranta, Larina, Ekaterina, Claytor, Jordan Ray, Ivki", Angelina, Juhn, Mark, Milla Carmona, Pablo S., Robson, Selina Viktor, Saha, Anwesha, Villafaña, Jaime A., Zill, Michelle E., Challenges and directions in analytical paleobiology, Paleobiology, 49, (3), 2023, p377-393Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Dunne, Emma M., Farnsworth, Alexander, Benson, Roger B.J., Godoy, Pedro L., Greene, Sarah E., Valdes, Paul J., Lunt, Daniel J., Butler, Richard J., Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs, Current Biology, 33, (1), 2023, p206-214.e4Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Fossil Trafficking, Fraud, and Fakery in, Springer International Publishing, 2023, pp61-79 , [Raja, Nussaïbah B., Dunne, Emma M.]Book Chapter, 2023, DOI
  • Stewens, Paul P., Raja, Nussaïbah B., Dunne, Emma M., The Return of Fossils Removed Under Colonial Rule, Santander Art and Culture Law Review, 8, (2), 2022, p89-114Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Raja, Nussaïbah B., Dunne, Emma M., Publication pressure threatens the integrity of palaeontological research, Geological Curator, 11, (7), 2022, p407-418Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Henderson, Struan, Dunne, Emma M., Fasey, Sophie A., Giles, Sam, The early diversification of ray"finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects, Biological Reviews, 98, (1), 2023, p284-315Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Henderson, Struan, Dunne, Emma M., Giles, Sam, Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289, (1985), 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Smith, Jansen A., Raja, Nussaïbah B., Clements, Thomas, Dimitrijevi", Danijela, Dowding, Elizabeth M., Dunne, Emma M., Gee, Bryan M., Godoy, Pedro L., Lombardi, Elizabeth M., Mulvey, Laura P. A., Nätscher, Paulina S., Reddin, Carl J., Shirley, Bryan, Warnock, Rachel C. M., Kocsis, Ádám T., Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: capacity building for the big data future, Paleobiology, 50, (2), 2024, p165-176Journal Article, 2024, DOI

Research Expertise

  • Title
    Palaeoscientometrics
    Summary
    The Pal(a)eoscientometrics Research Collective is an enterprise that comprises an international and interdisciplinary group of early career scholars and focuses on quantitatively interrogating how history and colonialism shape palaeontological research and our understanding of Earth history.
    Date From
    2020

Recognition

  • Michael K O"Rourke Prize for the best PhD student publication in the College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham) 2018
  • Council Poster Prize, Palaeontological Association Annual Meeting 2019
  • Award for outstanding contributions to teaching (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) 2025
  • Palaeontological Association Dorothea Bate Medal 2025
  • Council Flash Talk Prize, Palaeontological Association Annual Meeting 2020
  • Palaeontological Association Gertrude Elles Award 2018
  • Shortlisted for the Paläontologische Gesellschaft Tilly Edinger Award for young researchers 2023