Life Sciences Commons^™

Microbe-Mineral Interactions During Exceptional Fossil Preservation, Stromatolite Formation, And Desert Varnish Growth, Michael Strange

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Ediacaran to Cambrian Deep Spring Formation consists of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata which contain an increasingly complex and biogeographically important biota. Past investigations of the Deep Spring Formation at Mt. Dunfee, Nevada, explored the highly diverse microbialite reefs consisting of a wide range of stromatolite morphologies which exerted significant control on local sedimentation and topography. Early investigations also documented the biomineralizing metazoan Cloudina (an Ediacaran index fossil). However, recent exploration of the area has resulted in the discovery of several new metazoan fossil communities consisting of a diverse assemblage of Ediacaran soft-tissue tubicolous vermiforms (tube fossils) similar to Cloudina. The …

Infanticide In Chimpanzees: Taphonomic Case Studies From Gombe, Claire A. Kirchhoff, Michael L. Wison, Deus C. Mjungu, Jane Raphael, Shadrack Kamenya, D. Anthony Collins

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives

We present a study of skeletal damage to four chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infanticide victims from Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Skeletal analysis may provide insight into the adaptive significance of infanticide by examining whether nutritional benefits sufficiently explain infanticidal behavior. The nutritional hypothesis would be supported if bone survivorship rates and skeletal damage patterns are comparable to those of monkey prey. If not, other explanations, such as the resource competition hypothesis, should be considered.

Methods

Taphonomic assessment of two chimpanzee infants included description of breakage and surface modification, data on MNE, %MNE, and bone survivorship. Two additional infants …