The Analysis Of Palaeobotanical Remains From Native American Sites In The Tennessee Region Of The Upper Cumberland Plateau.,
2010
East Tennessee State University
The Analysis Of Palaeobotanical Remains From Native American Sites In The Tennessee Region Of The Upper Cumberland Plateau., Chase W. Beck
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sediment samples were collected from 3 rock shelter sites and one natural pond on the Upper Cumberland Plateau. Samples were processed to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate pollen and charcoal abundance as well as other palaeobotanicals. The analysis was to determine when prehistoric Native Americans began controlled burns to enhance resources acquisition. Samples were also analyzed for the presence of pollen to determine vegetation changes that may accompany the use of controlled burns and to determine the onset of horticulture. The Upper Cumberland Plateau is often considered a marginal area used only seasonally by Native Americans; however, management practices may have …
A Morphological And Geochemical Investigation Of Grypania Spiralis: Implications For Early Earth Evolution,
2010
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
A Morphological And Geochemical Investigation Of Grypania Spiralis: Implications For Early Earth Evolution, Miles Anthony Henderson
Masters Theses
Macroscopic “carbonaceous” fossils such as Grypania, Katnia, Chuaria, and Tawuia play a critical role in our understanding of biological evolution in the Precambrian and their environmental implications. Unfortunately, understanding of these fossils remains limited by their relative simplicity of form, mode of preservation, and broad taphonomic variability. As a result, debate continues as to even the fundamental taxonomic affinity of the organisms. Megascopic coiled forms (i.e. Grypania and Katnia), for instance, have been interpreted as trace fossils, multicellular algae, prokaryotic filaments, macroscopic bacteria, cyanobacteria, or a transitional form from macroscopic to megascopic bacterial life. Similarly, Chuaria …
A Re-Evaluation Of The Pleistocene Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Guildayi, And An Overview Of Cryptobranchus Remains From Appalachian Caves.,
2010
East Tennessee State University
A Re-Evaluation Of The Pleistocene Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Guildayi, And An Overview Of Cryptobranchus Remains From Appalachian Caves., Keila Elaine Bredehoeft
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Cryptobranchus guildayi is described as an extinct species of large salamander that is closely related to the hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis. The validity of this extinct taxon has been questioned, so an expanded osteological sample of modern hellbenders was used for comparative purposes with the C. guildayi fossil material. Based on this analysis, all supposed distinguishing morphological characteristics used to define C. guildayi can be observed in specimens of C. alleganiensis, or are based on misidentifications. Therefore, Cryptobranchus guildayi is considered to be conspecific with C. alleganiensis and taxonomically should be considered a junior synonym of the latter. The …
Geochemical Analysis Of Cenozoic Fossil Conifers At High Latitudes: Implications For Molecular Preservation And Environmental Change,
2010
Bryant University
Geochemical Analysis Of Cenozoic Fossil Conifers At High Latitudes: Implications For Molecular Preservation And Environmental Change, Caitlyn Witkowski
Honors Projects in Science and Technology
Fossil materials record ancient life and their adapted environment. Arctic plant fossils are critical for our understanding of the Earth’s paleoenvironment when high latitudes were under ice-free conditions. All Arctic plant fossils in this research are conifers, plants conducive for morphological and molecular study because of their incredible genetic stability. Miocene (15 million year old) and Pliocene (5 million year old) conifer leaves were collected from Banks Island, Canada (Williams et al., 2008). Samples were analyzed and compared with Paleocene (60 million year old) and Eocene (45 million year old) samples from Axel Heiberg Island, Canada and with modern equivalent …
Cenozoic Mass Extinctions In The Deep Sea; What Disturbs The Largest Habitat On Earth?,
2010
Wesleyan University
Cenozoic Mass Extinctions In The Deep Sea; What Disturbs The Largest Habitat On Earth?, Ellen Thomas
Ellen Thomas
No abstract provided.
Exploring Isotopic Signatures Of Lake El'gygytgyn Sediments For Evidence Of Anoxia And Methane Cycling Over The Past 50,000 Years,
2010
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Exploring Isotopic Signatures Of Lake El'gygytgyn Sediments For Evidence Of Anoxia And Methane Cycling Over The Past 50,000 Years, Addie R. Holland
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
Compound specific isotope analysis of lake sediments is a powerful tool in deciphering evidence of changing climatic and paleoenvironmental conditions through time. Isotopic analysis of Lake El’gygytgyn pilot sediment cores, PG1351 and LZ1029, have contributed increased insight into paleoenvironmental interpretations regarding conditions of permanent ice cover and water column anoxia at the lake over the past 250 kyr. Bulk sediment δ15N was measured as a proxy for denitrification and a possible indicator for water column anoxia intensity. However, it appears that insufficient quantities of water column nitrate to fuel denitrification make its correlation with anoxia intensity ineffective. In pilot core …
Tetrapod Fauna Of The Lowermost Usili Formation (Songea Group, Ruhuhu Basin) Of Southern Tanzania, With A New Burnetiid Record,
2010
University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Tetrapod Fauna Of The Lowermost Usili Formation (Songea Group, Ruhuhu Basin) Of Southern Tanzania, With A New Burnetiid Record, Christian A. Sidor, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, D. Marie Weide, Roger M. H. Smith, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Linda A. Tsuji
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications
Vertebrate fossils from the Ruhuhu Basin of southern Tanzania have been known for over 75 years, but the details of their stratigraphic distribution remain imperfectly understood. Recent fieldwork in the Upper Permian Usili Formation (Songea Group) has led to the discovery of a tetrapod assemblage in a conglomeratic unit at its base. The fossils are concentrated in matrix-supported intraformational clay pebble conglomerates interpreted as mass flow deposits in wide, shallow channels in the distal reaches of an alluvial fan. Included in this new collection are fossils representing the first record of a burnetiid therapsid from Tanzania. The anatomy of the …
Late Devonian Spermatophyte Diversity And Paleoecology At Red Hill, North-Central Pennsylvania, U.S.A.,
2010
West Chester University
Late Devonian Spermatophyte Diversity And Paleoecology At Red Hill, North-Central Pennsylvania, U.S.A., Walter L. Cressler Iii, Cyrille Prestianni, Ben A. Lepage
Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Terrestrialization In The Late Devonian: A Palaeoecological Overview Of The Red Hill Site, Pennsylvania, Usa,
2010
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Terrestrialization In The Late Devonian: A Palaeoecological Overview Of The Red Hill Site, Pennsylvania, Usa, Walter L. Cressler Iii, Edward B. Daeschler, Rudy Slingerland, Daniel A. Peterson
Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
A Geographic Information Systems Approach To The 19th Century Excavation Of Brixham Cavern, Devon, England,
2010
Claremont McKenna College; Pitzer College; Scripps College
A Geographic Information Systems Approach To The 19th Century Excavation Of Brixham Cavern, Devon, England, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Warren Roberts
WM Keck Science Faculty Papers
The oldest known spatially-explicit archaeological excavation, conducted in Brixham cave, Devon, in 1858, is reconstructed using geographic information systems technology. Two dimensional plots of individual fossil taxa and flint artefacts demonstrate the utility of the technique for elucidating taphonomy and palaeobiology. The cave served as a den for hibernating brown bears, as a den for hyena and cave lion, and as a reliquary for their prey.
Ancient Dna Analyses Exclude Humans As The Driving Force Behind Late Pleistocene Musk Ox (Ovibos Moschatus) Population Dynamics,
2010
Old Dominion University
Ancient Dna Analyses Exclude Humans As The Driving Force Behind Late Pleistocene Musk Ox (Ovibos Moschatus) Population Dynamics, Paula F. Campos, Eske Willerslev, Andrei Sher, Ludovic Orlando, Erik Axelsson, Alexei Tikhonov, Kim Aaris-Sorensen, Alex D. Greenwood, Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, Pavel Kosintsev
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
The causes of the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions are poorly understood. Different lines of evidence point to climate change, the arrival of humans, or a combination of these events as the trigger. Although many species went extinct, others, such as caribou and bison, survived to the present. The musk ox has an intermediate story: relatively abundant during the Pleistocene, it is now restricted to Greenland and the Arctic Archipelago. In this study, we use ancient DNA sequences, temporally unbiased summary statistics, and Bayesian analytical techniques to infer musk ox population dynamics throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal …
An Analysis Of Anchitherine Equids Across The Eocene–Oligocene Boundary In The White River Group Of The Western Great Plains,
2010
University of Nebraska at Lincoln
An Analysis Of Anchitherine Equids Across The Eocene–Oligocene Boundary In The White River Group Of The Western Great Plains, David M. Masciale
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Anchitherine horses are a subfamily of equids that are abundantly represented in the late Eocene and early Oligocene of North America. This group has been heavily studied in the past, but important questions still remain. Some studies have focused on the Eocene-Oligocene boundary and have used these equids along with other taxa to study mammalian diet and climate change through this interval. I reexamine two anchitherine genera, Mesohippus and Miohippus, from stratigraphic sequences of the White River Group in western Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota. These sequences span the Chadronian (late Eocene), Orellan (early Oligocene), and Whitneyan (early Oligocene) …
