Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Paleobiology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Paleobiology

The Evolution Of Respiratory O2/No Reductases: An Out-Of-The-Phylogenetic-Box Perspective, Anne-Lise Ducluzeau, Barbara Schoepp-Cothenet, Robert Van Lis, Frauke Baymann, Michael J. Russell, Wilfgang Nitschke Jun 2014

The Evolution Of Respiratory O2/No Reductases: An Out-Of-The-Phylogenetic-Box Perspective, Anne-Lise Ducluzeau, Barbara Schoepp-Cothenet, Robert Van Lis, Frauke Baymann, Michael J. Russell, Wilfgang Nitschke

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Complex life on our planet crucially depends on strong redox disequilibria afforded by the almost ubiquitous presence of highly oxidizing molecular oxygen. However, the history of O2-levels in the atmosphere is complex and prior to the Great Oxidation Event some 2.3 billion years ago, the amount of O2 in the biosphere is considered to have been extremely low as compared with present-day values. Therefore the evolutionary histories of life and of O2-levels are likely intricately intertwined. The obvious biological proxy for inferring the impact of changing O2-levels on life is the evolutionary history …


Paleoecology Of Nebraska’S Ungulates During The Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Grant S. Boardman Apr 2013

Paleoecology Of Nebraska’S Ungulates During The Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Grant S. Boardman

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The White River Group (WRG) preserves the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition (EOCT), an interval of global cooling and drying during the onset of Antarctic glaciation. In the Great Plains, a shift from forested conditions to drier woodland-savanna biomes is hypothesized to have occurred at this time. I test this hypothesis through the analyses of several paleoenvironmental proxies on the teeth of 12 WRG ungulate species: stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from tooth enamel, and mesowear and microwear texture. The EOCT shift toward more open habitats and lower vegetation density under drying climates should have resulted in an increase in mean carbon …


Chemostratigraphy Of The Early Pliocene Diatomite Interval From Mis And-1b Core (Antarctica): Paleoenvironment Implications, Giovanna Scopelliti, Adriana Bellanca, Donata Monien, Gerhard Kuhn Jan 2013

Chemostratigraphy Of The Early Pliocene Diatomite Interval From Mis And-1b Core (Antarctica): Paleoenvironment Implications, Giovanna Scopelliti, Adriana Bellanca, Donata Monien, Gerhard Kuhn

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The AND-1B drill core (1285 m-long) was recovered, inside the ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) Program, during the austral summer of 2006/07 from beneath the floating McMurdo Ice Shelf. Drilling recovered a stratigraphic succession of alternating diamictites, diatomites and volcaniclastic sediments spanning about the last 14 Ma. A core portion between 350 and 480 mbsf, including a 80 m-thick diatomite interval recording the early Pliocene warming event, was investigated in term of opal biogenic content and element geochemistry. Across the diatomite interval, in spite of the lithological uniformity, a fluctuating biogenic opal profile mirrors the δ18O record, testifying a decrease in …