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University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
- Discipline
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- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (6)
- Paleontology (6)
- Climate (3)
- Evolution (3)
- Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (3)
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- Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (3)
- Paleobiology (3)
- Environmental Sciences (2)
- Atmospheric Sciences (1)
- Biodiversity (1)
- Biogeochemistry (1)
- Biology (1)
- Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment (1)
- Fresh Water Studies (1)
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- Hydrology (1)
- Integrative Biology (1)
- Meteorology (1)
- Natural Resource Economics (1)
- Natural Resources Management and Policy (1)
- Natural Resources and Conservation (1)
- Other Earth Sciences (1)
- Other Environmental Sciences (1)
- Plant Biology (1)
- Plant Sciences (1)
- Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology (1)
- Water Resource Management (1)
- Keyword
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- Miocene (3)
- Neogene (2)
- Paleoecology (2)
- Alligator (1)
- Alligatoroidea (1)
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- Anguidae (1)
- Ashfall Fossil Beds (1)
- Biogeography (1)
- Blastomerycinae (1)
- Body Size (1)
- Body Size Estimation (1)
- Castilletes Formation (1)
- Cenozoic (1)
- Central Great Plains (1)
- Colombia (1)
- Crocodilians (1)
- Crocodylia (1)
- Crocodyloidea (1)
- Ecometrics (1)
- Ecomorphology (1)
- Energy balance (1)
- Eusuchia (1)
- Evapotranspiration (1)
- Fossils (1)
- Functional trait (1)
- Gavialoidea (1)
- Greenhouse (1)
- Guajira (1)
- Holocene (1)
- Longirostromeryx (1)
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Exploring The Relationships Between Mammalian Functional Trait Distributions And Regional Biomes, With Application To Miocene Paleoecology, Devra Hock-Reid
Exploring The Relationships Between Mammalian Functional Trait Distributions And Regional Biomes, With Application To Miocene Paleoecology, Devra Hock-Reid
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Paleoecology relies on understanding relationships between modern animals and their environment. Animals are adapted to niches in their environments, and those physical adaptations, or functional traits, are utilized as proxies to interpret aspects of paleo-ecosystems. Much is known about individual functional traits in extant mammals and their relationship to the environment. Less is known about how multiple functional traits across a community can be utilized for paleoecological interpretations. I develop models utilizing traits in mammalian communities at the biome level. For Chapter 1, I build a model for North American regional biomes using mammalian trait frequencies. I quantify changes in …
Constraining Neogene Temperature And Precipitation Histories In The Central Great Plains Using The Fossil Record Of Alligator, Evan Whiting
Constraining Neogene Temperature And Precipitation Histories In The Central Great Plains Using The Fossil Record Of Alligator, Evan Whiting
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Most amphibians and reptiles (excluding birds) are poikilothermic; their internal body temperature varies with that of their external environment. This makes them useful as climate proxies, especially when linked to geographic distributions of ambient climate. I evaluate the utility of the extant crocodylian genus Alligator as a paleoclimate proxy for the Central Great Plains (CGP) using species distribution modeling. Alligator is a readily identifiable taxon with a good CGP fossil record during the Neogene (~23–2.6 Ma). Alligator first appeared in the CGP in the late Eocene (~37 Ma), was absent during most of the Oligocene, reappeared in the early Miocene …
Ecology And Morphology Of The Late Miocene Musk Deer, Longirostromeryx Wellsi (Artiodactyla: Moschidae: Blastomerycinae), Katheryn Y. C. Chen
Ecology And Morphology Of The Late Miocene Musk Deer, Longirostromeryx Wellsi (Artiodactyla: Moschidae: Blastomerycinae), Katheryn Y. C. Chen
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Longirostromeryx wellsi, one of the latest surviving members of the extinct clade Blastomerycinae (Artiodactyla: Moschidae), possesses highly derived craniodental morphology that deviates from typical musk deer form. Previous work suggests that the unique anatomy of L. wellsi represents adaptations for occupying open savannas. To test this hypothesis I conduct principal components analysis on five postcranial bones of L. wellsi, comparing them to that of several extant ruminant artiodactyls, which are divided among seven habitat categories. These elements are also compared with the postcrania of other blastomerycines. These analyses indicate that L. wellsi anatomy is most similar to that of other …
Climate Effects On Mammalian Body Size And Grassland Composition Inferred From Late Quaternary Grazers In The Great Plains Of North America, Tom Baldvins
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Several mammalian taxa exhibited a diminution during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain this phenomenon: (1) human hunting and (2) climate change along with its effects on grasslands. I use stable isotopes from a variety of Quaternary grazing mammals to measure grassland changes following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Nebraska and to develop a climate proxy to compare with mammalian body size. Results indicate that latest Pleistocene equids and mammoths have δ13C values indicative of a C3 or mixed C3/C4 diet. However, Holocene bison have greatly elevated δ13 …
Fossil Crocodilians From The High Guajira Peninsula Of Colombia, And The History Of Neogene Crocodilian Diversity In Tropical South America, Jorge W. Moreno-Bernal
Fossil Crocodilians From The High Guajira Peninsula Of Colombia, And The History Of Neogene Crocodilian Diversity In Tropical South America, Jorge W. Moreno-Bernal
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The greatest diversity of Cenozoic crocodilians occurred during the Miocene in equatorial South America. However, the origin of this high diversity and its relationship to environmental factors are poorly understood. Most described species come from localities assigned to Laventan (13.8-11.8 Ma) and Huayquerian (9.0-6.8 Ma) South American land mammal ages (SALMAS), whereas the record is sparse in the early to middle Miocene and after the latest Miocene and Pliocene. Field research in the Castilletes (early Miocene-Pliocene) Formation in the High Guajira Peninsula of Colombia provides new fossil data on the origin of Neotropical crocodylian diversity. The Castilletes Formation crops out …
Body Size And Species Richness Changes In Glyptosaurinae (Squamata: Anguidae) Through Climatic Transitions Of The North American Cenozoic, Sara Elshafie
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Poikilothermic vertebrates offer excellent climate proxies based on relationships between environment and measurable variables such as body size and species richness. Relationships of these variables in lizards to environmental transitions over long time scales are poorly understood. Here I show that patterns of body size and species richness in a lizard clade, Glyptosaurinae (Squamata: Anguidae), correspond to known histories of paleotemperatures through the Cenozoic of North America. Glyptosaurines have the richest fossil record among North American Cenozoic lizards and exhibit a wide range of skull sizes. In order to estimate body size for glyptosaurines and other fossil anguids, I collected …
Water And Energy Balance Response Of A Riparian Wetland To The Removal Of Phragmites Australis, Phillip Mykleby
Water And Energy Balance Response Of A Riparian Wetland To The Removal Of Phragmites Australis, Phillip Mykleby
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Vegetation and climate both play integral roles in water availability, particularly for arid to semi-arid regions. Changes in these variables can lead to extreme shortages in water for regions that rely on water for crop irrigation (i.e., the Great Plains). The objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of vegetation on water availability in the Republican River basin in central Nebraska. Decreases in streamflow have been observed in the river basin for many years and, as a result, an invasive riparian plant species (Phragmites australis) is being removed in an effort to reduce evapotranspiration and reclaim …