Section of Ecology, Massey University, PhD

Has the poultry virus (IBDV) been introduced into Adélie penguins on Ross Island?

Australian researchers inferred the presence of the avian pathogen Infectious Burial Disease Virus (IBDV) from antibody tests which suggested that a penguin population near Australia's Mawson Base had been exposed to the pathogen. Peter's research aimed to test Adélie penguins for the presence of this pathogen in areas of high human contact, such as Cape Royds and Cape Bird.

Publications

Ritchie, P.A. et al. Ancient DNA enables timing of the Pleistocene origin and Holocene expansion of two Adelie penguin lineages in Antarctica. Molecular biology and evolution 21(2): 240-248, 2004.

Roeder, A. Ritchie, P.A. Lambert, D. M. New DNA markers for penguins. Conservation genetics 3(3): 341-344, 2002.

Lambert, D. M. et al. Rates of evolution in ancient DNA from Adélie penguins. Science 295: 2270-2273, 2002.

Ritchie, P.A. The evolution of the mitochondrial control region in the Adélie penguins of Antarctica. Ph.D., Massey University. 2001.