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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

A New Radiometric Date And Assessment Of The Last Glacial Megafauna Of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Guy Van Rentergem, Eliza Howlett, Chris Stimpson Jan 2016

A New Radiometric Date And Assessment Of The Last Glacial Megafauna Of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Guy Van Rentergem, Eliza Howlett, Chris Stimpson

KGI Faculty Publications and Research

The extinct fauna of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, has played a significant role in the history of British cave paleontology, a near-complete woolly rhinoceros from the cave having been famously illustrated in 1823. The fauna was not subsequently re-studied until 2000, with the publication of an indirect radiometric date by uranium-series disequilibrium dating of a presumed-overlying flowstone. Here we present a direct radiocarbon date of 43,330 +/- 1800 rcyBP, 45083 - 48613 calBP (1 σ) on a representative Bos/Bison bone, with additional comments on the fauna and the taphonomy of the site.


Examining The Impact Of Pau Jacaré (Piptadenia Gonoacantha) Growth On Soil Fertility In The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Aleksandra Ponomareva Oct 2012

Examining The Impact Of Pau Jacaré (Piptadenia Gonoacantha) Growth On Soil Fertility In The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Aleksandra Ponomareva

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

The Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil is an area of astounding diversity in both flora and fauna, taking its place among the top five “biodiversity hotspots” in the world. However, in the past 40 or 50 years the area has been increasingly threatened by the presence of humans – approximately 93% of the Rainforest has disappeared as a result of exploitation (Turner 2004). Unsustainable farming practices, as well as logging, cattle ranching and mining activities have caused soil infertility, water depletion, erosion and destruction of ecosystems. This project examines the effects of the Pau Jacaré, Piptadenia gonoacantha, tree on soil health …


Trace Element Soil Contamination At Urban Community Gardens In Washington, Dc, Adam J. Long Aug 2012

Trace Element Soil Contamination At Urban Community Gardens In Washington, Dc, Adam J. Long

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

In recent years, urban gardening has become a popular form of environmental, food, and social justice. Urban community gardens such as those in Washington, DC can reduce the environmental footprint of food production, provide access to healthy produce in “food deserts,” and provide other social, educational, and even financial benefits. However, the rising popularity of urban gardening has put many people in close contact with urban soils, which are likely to contain various contaminants due to concentrated human activity over extended periods of time. This study investigates heavy metal soil contaminants found in community gardens located in Washington, DC. 45 …


Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 2012

Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Gomantong cave system of eastern Sabah, Malaysia, is well-known as an important site for harvesting edible bird-nests and, more recently, as a tourist attraction. Although the biology of the Gomantong system has been repeatedly studied, very little attention has been given to the geomorphology. Here, we report on the impact of geobiological modification in the development of the modern aspect of the cave, an important but little recognized feature of tropical caves. Basic modeling of the metabolic outputs from bats and birds (CO2, H2O, heat) reveals that post-speleogenetic biogenic corrosion can erode bedrock by between …


Subaerial Freshwater Stromatolites In Deer Cave, Sarawak – A Unique Geobiological Cave Formation, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 2011

Subaerial Freshwater Stromatolites In Deer Cave, Sarawak – A Unique Geobiological Cave Formation, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A suite of distinctive freshwater subaerial phosphatic stromatolites is developed close to the northeastern entrance of Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, in conditions of very low light but ample supply of nutrients from guano. These stromatolites are not particulate; they are composed of alternating layers of more porous and more dense amorphous hydroxylapatite. This biomineralization occurs as moulds of coccoid (the majority) and filamentous (less abundant) cyanobacteria. Mineralization occurs at a pH of ~ 7.0 in the extracellular sheaths and in micro-domains of varying carbonate content in the surrounding mucus of the biofilm. The most recent surfaces …


Geologic Map Of The Ganiki Planitia Quadrangle (V–14), Venus, Eric B. Grosfils, Sylvan M. Long, Elizabeth M. Venechuk, Debra M. Hurwitz, Joseph W. Richards, Brian Kastl, Dorothy E. Drury, Johanna S. Hardin Jan 2011

Geologic Map Of The Ganiki Planitia Quadrangle (V–14), Venus, Eric B. Grosfils, Sylvan M. Long, Elizabeth M. Venechuk, Debra M. Hurwitz, Joseph W. Richards, Brian Kastl, Dorothy E. Drury, Johanna S. Hardin

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Our current research focuses on addressing four specific questions. Has the dominant style of volcanic expression within the quadrangle varied in a systematic fashion over time? Does the tectonic deformation within the quadrangle record significant regional patterns that vary spatially or temporally, and if so what are the scales, orientations and sources of the stress fields driving this deformation? If mantle upwelling and downwelling have played a significant role in the formation of Atla Regio and Atalanta Planitia as has been proposed, does the geology of Ganiki Planitia record evidence of northwest-directed lateral mantle flow connecting the two sites? Finally, …


An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias Jan 2010

An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A distinctive suite of small-scale erosional forms that are oriented towards the light occur close to the entrance of Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, in SE Venezuela. These are the third example of photokarren ever studied in the world, the other two being from Borneo and Ireland. They are the only photokarren ever described from sandstone, and the only example from a non-carbonate environment. The host rock is a poorly-lithified unit of the Precambrian quartz arenite of the Roraima Supergroup. The forms are all oriented towards the light at 30° regardless of rock surface orientation. …


A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg Jan 2010

A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The ‘breccia’ stratum from Kents (we follow local tradition in using the form ‘Kents’, without an apostrophe) Cavern, England, has been well known for its rich yield of cave-bear material since excavations began in the mid-19th century. Recent work has established that the bears are of latest MIS 12 or earliest MIS 11 age. A life table based on a collection of 67 molariform teeth is consistent with the use of the cave as a hibernaculum. Univariate and morphological assessment of the teeth shows an unusual range of primitive and more derived characters. Multivariate morphometric analysis of cave-bear teeth from …


A Geographic Information Systems Approach To The 19th Century Excavation Of Brixham Cavern, Devon, England, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Warren Roberts Jan 2010

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.


Spatial And Temporal Expression Of Vegetation And Atmospheric Variability From Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Bat Guano In The Southern United States, Christopher M. Wurster, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Michael I. Bird Jan 2007

Spatial And Temporal Expression Of Vegetation And Atmospheric Variability From Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Bat Guano In The Southern United States, Christopher M. Wurster, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Michael I. Bird

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Stable isotopes of faeces contain information related to the animals feeding ecology. The use of stable isotope values from subfossil faeces as a palaeoenvironmental indicator depends on how faithfully the animal records their local environment. Here we present insectivorous bat guano δ13C and δ15N values from a precipitation gradient across the southern United States and northern Mexico to compare with local vegetation and climate. We find δ13C values to be an excellent predictor of expected C4/CAM vegetation, indicating that the bats are non-selective in their diet. Moreover, we find bat guano δ …


New Approaches To Understanding The Mechanics Of Burgess Shale-Type Deposits: From The Micron Scale To The Global Picture, Robert Gaines, Mary L. Droser Jan 2005

New Approaches To Understanding The Mechanics Of Burgess Shale-Type Deposits: From The Micron Scale To The Global Picture, Robert Gaines, Mary L. Droser

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposits are among the most significant deposits for understanding the “Cambrian explosion” because they contain the fossilized tissues of nonmineralized organisms and provide a substantially different window on the radiation of the Metazoa than is afforded by the more “typical” fossil record of skeletal parts of biomineralized organisms. Despite nearly a century of research, BST deposits remain poorly investigated as sedimentologic entities largely because they comprise fine-grained mudrocks. Here,we describe a new, integrative approach to understanding a single BST deposit, the middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation of Utah, which reveals a dynamic interplay of paleoenvironmental, paleoecologic, and …


Guano, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 2004

Guano, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

This is an encyclopedia article.


A New Megalonychid Sloth From The Late Wisconsinan Of The Dominican Republic, Elizabeth Rega, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Keith Christenson Jan 2002

A New Megalonychid Sloth From The Late Wisconsinan Of The Dominican Republic, Elizabeth Rega, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Keith Christenson

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

An unusually well preserved skull, mandible, and indisputably associated post-cranial elements of new sloth, Acratocnus (Miocnus), were recovered from a cave in Jaragua National Park, Dominican Republic. The animal died lying in a rimstone pool and was rapidly coated with a thin calcite patina. We have documented a late Wisconsinan age for this specimen by inorganic 14C radiometric dating of the patina, with supporting data on the carbon systematics of the speleothems in this cave. This sloth is described as a new species on the basis of the distinctive morphology and relative size of cranial and mandibular features. We consider …


A Middle Pleistocene Age And Biogeography For The Extinct Rodent Megalomys Curazensis From Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg Jan 2002

A Middle Pleistocene Age And Biogeography For The Extinct Rodent Megalomys Curazensis From Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The extinct oryzomyine rodent Megalomys curazensis has been known from abundant but fragmentary remains on the island of Curaçao since 1959. Here we demonstrate an age of 130 000 to 400 000 years before present based on geomorphological context, and propose a biogeographical model for the genus.


Puerto Rican Karst - A Vital Resource, Ariel E. Lugo, Leopoldo Miranda Castro, Abel Vale, Tania Del Mar López, Enrique Hernández Prieto, Andrés García Martinó, Alberto R. Puente Rolón, Adrianne G. Tossas, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Tom Miller, Armando Rodríguez, Joyce Lundberg, John Thomlinson, José Colón, Johannes H. Schellekens, Olga Ramos, Eileen Helmer Aug 2001

Puerto Rican Karst - A Vital Resource, Ariel E. Lugo, Leopoldo Miranda Castro, Abel Vale, Tania Del Mar López, Enrique Hernández Prieto, Andrés García Martinó, Alberto R. Puente Rolón, Adrianne G. Tossas, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Tom Miller, Armando Rodríguez, Joyce Lundberg, John Thomlinson, José Colón, Johannes H. Schellekens, Olga Ramos, Eileen Helmer

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The limestone region of Puerto Rico covers about 27.5 percent of the island's surface and is subdivided into the northern, southern, and dispersed limestone areas. All limestone areas have karst features. The karst belt is that part of the northern limestone with the most spectacular surficial karst landforms. It covers 142,544 ha or 65 percent of the northern limestone. The karst belt is the focus of this publication, although reference is made to all limestone regions. The northern limestone contains Puerto Rico's most extensive freshwater aquifer, largest continuous expanse of mature forest, and largest coastal wetland, estuary, and underground cave …


A New Species Of Extinct Oryzomyine Rodent From The Quaternary Of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Adolphe O. Debrot Jan 2001

A New Species Of Extinct Oryzomyine Rodent From The Quaternary Of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Adolphe O. Debrot

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

An extinct new species of Oryzomyine rodent, known since 1936 from the cave of Grot van Hato on the island of Curaçao, is described from abundant new specimens collected from owl-pellet deposits at three localities on the island.


The Age Of The Woolly Rhino From Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Derek C. Ford Apr 2000

The Age Of The Woolly Rhino From Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Derek C. Ford

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Dream Cave woolly rhinoceros, Coelodonta antiquitatis, is a "classic" specimen of a "cold-stage" fossil fauna from central England. The find was illustrated and described by Dean William Buckland in his seminal tome Reliquiae Diluvianae (1823) during the first half of the 19th century, and made a significant contribution to the development of Buckland's views on the origin of extinct and extirpated fossil vertebrates. The report presents the first, albeit indirect, radiometric dates on the specimen, and argues that the animal fell into the cave just before 37,000 years BP, during the middle of Marine Isotope Stage 3 Interstadial (41 …


New Specimens Of Late Quaternary Extinct Mammals From Caves In Sanchez Ramirez Province, Dominican Republic, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Abel Vale, Keith Christenson, Joyce Lundberg, Gabriel Atilles, Stein Erik Lauritzen Jan 2000

New Specimens Of Late Quaternary Extinct Mammals From Caves In Sanchez Ramirez Province, Dominican Republic, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Abel Vale, Keith Christenson, Joyce Lundberg, Gabriel Atilles, Stein Erik Lauritzen

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

During the late Quaternary, the island of Hispaniola supported one of the most diverse mammalian faunas in the West Indies. Much of this diversity was lost to extinction in the past 100,000 years, but the timing of these events is poorly known. Here we report the paleontological findings of a multidisciplinary investigation of caves in the central Dominican Republic. These findings include new 'last occurrence' dates for the rodents Isolobodon portoricensis and Brotomys cf. voratus that take these genera to the dawn of the historic era; a first record of a last-interglacial sloth, and the first report of the upper …


Late Quaternary Fossil Mammals And Last Occurrence Dates From Caves At Barahona, Puerto Rico, Donald A. Mcfarlane Dec 1999

Late Quaternary Fossil Mammals And Last Occurrence Dates From Caves At Barahona, Puerto Rico, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Puerto Rico supported at least five genera of endemic terrestrial mammals in the late Quaternary, all of which are extinct. Whether these animals died out in the late Pleistocene, the mid-Holocene, or in post-Columbian time has not been established. This paper is the first attempt at radiometrically dating the 'last occurrences' of these taxa, together with the first unambiguous descriptions of localities reported by previous workers. Last occurrence dates for Nesophontes, Elasmodontomys and Heteropsomys are shown to be mid-Holocene and overlap with Amerindian occupation of the island. Acratocnus is known only from the late Pleistocene. No Puerto Rican taxon has …


New Caribbean Locality For The Extinct Great White Shark Carcharodon, Clare Flemming, Donald A. Mcfarlane Dec 1998

New Caribbean Locality For The Extinct Great White Shark Carcharodon, Clare Flemming, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Carcharodon is represented by a single upper tooth (Fig. 1) which we extracted from the eroding Pliocene limestone wall, some six meters above the floor at the northern end of Darby Sink. Much of the tooth is missing, but the remaining portion includes features diagnostic of this genus. The tooth conforms in size and morphology to Carcharodon megalodon (Agassiz, 1843), an extinct great white shark.


A Second Pre-Wisconsinan Locality For The Extinct Jamaican Rodent, Clidomys (Rodentia: Heptaxodontidae), Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Clare Flemming, Ross D. E. Macphee, Stein-Erik Lauritzen Dec 1998

A Second Pre-Wisconsinan Locality For The Extinct Jamaican Rodent, Clidomys (Rodentia: Heptaxodontidae), Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Clare Flemming, Ross D. E. Macphee, Stein-Erik Lauritzen

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Clidomys is the most distinctive but least well known member of the late Quaternary terrestrial mammal fauna of Jamaica. Here we report the second dated locality for this genus. The Illinoisan age we report further strengthens arguments we have made elsewhere, that Clidomys represents an early - probably pre-Wisconsinan - extinction that contrasts with the growing record of Holocene extinctions in the Antilles.


The Age Of The Kirkdale Cave Palaeofauna, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Derek C. Ford Apr 1998

The Age Of The Kirkdale Cave Palaeofauna, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Derek C. Ford

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Kirkdale Cave palaeofauna represents the original and classic 'warm', interglacial mammalian cave deposit in Britain. Although long considered to be 'Ipswichian' in age, no previous attempts to obtain radiometric dates have been recorded. Here we report a uranium-series disequilibrium date of 121,000 ± 4000 yr BP on a flowstone capping that overlay the original bone bed. The precision of the date exceeds that obtained at any other British Interglacial cave site, and permits tentative correlation with the high precision ice core records now available.


Magnetostratigraphy Of Cueva Del Aleman, Isla De Mona, Puerto Rico And The Species Duration Of Audobon's Shearwater, Bruce C. Panuska, John M. Mylroie, Darrell Armentrout, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 1998

Magnetostratigraphy Of Cueva Del Aleman, Isla De Mona, Puerto Rico And The Species Duration Of Audobon's Shearwater, Bruce C. Panuska, John M. Mylroie, Darrell Armentrout, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Magnetostratigraphic analysis of deposits exposed in Cueva del Aleman shows two reversed and two normal chronozones. The lower normal polarity event is observed in a clastic dike and probably predates initial cave formation. Sediments deposited inside the cave proper show a R-N-R sequence and probably date to at least 1.8 Ma. A fossiliferous clastic dike contains normal polarity with an overlying reversed magnetozone. Audubon’s Shearwater (bird) bones occur in the dike, which is tentatively correlated with the lower N polarity zone predating cave formation. If this correlation is correct, the Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri) range can be extended back to …


Jamaican Cave Vertebrates, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 1997

Jamaican Cave Vertebrates, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Limestone caves in the tropics are typically associated with a more diverse assemblage of vertebrates than are caves in temperate regions. Chapman [87] for example, has reported 37 species from the caves of Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, whereas Bailey [43] lists only 13 for the equally cavernicolous Guadeloupe Mountains National Park, New Mexico, USA. Twenty-eight vertebrate species have been recorded from Jamaican caves. The relative importance of the five Classes differ in these three areas as shown in Table 1 (overleaf).


Bones Of Puffinus Lherminieri Lesson (Aves: Procellaridae) And Two Other Vertebrates From Cueva Del Agua, Mona Isalnd, Puerto Rico (West Indies), Angel M. Nieves-Rivera, John M. Mylroie, Donald A. Mcfarlane Jan 1995

Bones Of Puffinus Lherminieri Lesson (Aves: Procellaridae) And Two Other Vertebrates From Cueva Del Agua, Mona Isalnd, Puerto Rico (West Indies), Angel M. Nieves-Rivera, John M. Mylroie, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

From a dive in Cueva del Agua, Mona Island, Puerto Rico, twelve un-mineralized bones of Puffinus Lherminieri Lesson, one of Cyclura stejnegeri Stejneger, and one of Moormops blainvilii Leach were collected. The subfossil evidence confirms that P. Lherminieri was a common species on Mona Island. Cyclura stejnegeri and M. blainvilii probably became trapped and died in the pool chamber.


Body Size In Amblyrhiza Inundata (Rodentia, Caviomorpha), An Extinct Megafaunal Rodent From The Anguilla Bank, West Indies: Estimates And Implications, Audrone R. Biknevicius, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Ross D. E. Macphee Nov 1993

Body Size In Amblyrhiza Inundata (Rodentia, Caviomorpha), An Extinct Megafaunal Rodent From The Anguilla Bank, West Indies: Estimates And Implications, Audrone R. Biknevicius, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Ross D. E. Macphee

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Rodent species typically evolve larger mean body sizes when isolated on islands, but the extinct caviomorph Amblyrhiza inundata, known only from Quaternary cave deposits on the islands of Anguilla and St. Martin (northern Lesser Antilles), provides an unusually dramatic example of insular gigantism. Here we report on a series of body mass estimates for Amblyrhiza using predictive equations based on anteroposterior diameters and cortical cross-sectional areas of humeral and femoral diaphyses. Analyses of 14 isolated specimens (5 femoral, 9 humeral), all representing adult or near adult animals, yield body mass estimates ranging from slightly less than 50 kg to more …


Amblyrhiza And The Vertebrate Paleontology Of Anguillean Caves, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Ross D. E. Macphee Jan 1993

Amblyrhiza And The Vertebrate Paleontology Of Anguillean Caves, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Ross D. E. Macphee

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Recorded interest in the caves of Anguilla dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century. The earliest explorations were concerned with the locating phosphatic cave earths, and resulted in the mining of several sites. Incidental to this work, the bones of the largest island rodent ever discovered were collected from Aguillan caves. Whereas the phosphate mining operations were short-lived, the remains of the giant rodent Amblyrhiza have catalyzed a continued interest in the caves of Anguilla. The most recent series of explorations have provided the first adequate documentation of Amhlyrhiza fossil sites, and have started to yield radiometric …


Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopic Signatures Of Bat Guanos As A Record Of Past Environments, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya Feb 1992

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopic Signatures Of Bat Guanos As A Record Of Past Environments, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured for various ecogeochemical samples relevant to bat guano ecosystems. In particular, ca. 800-year-old subfossil guano from Jackson's Bay Cave Compex, Jamaica, yielded ratios similar to the modern guano from other Jamaican bat caves but quite different from modern guano of the same area. Diagenetic change and differences in bat food habits were unlikely explanations for the observation. Instead, insects that feed on C4 and CAM plants were the main prey for the bats in present Jackson's Bay area, while the ultimate source of organic matter for bats in other Jamaican caves and for …


Nitrogen And Carbon Isotope Studies Of A Bat Guano Core From Eagle Creek Cave, Arizona, Usa, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya Feb 1992

Nitrogen And Carbon Isotope Studies Of A Bat Guano Core From Eagle Creek Cave, Arizona, Usa, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios were studied in a stratified deposit of guano of Mexican Free-tailed bats in Eagle Creek Cave, Arizona, U.S.A. Little diagenetic change was observed over the 25-year time span of the guano deposit. High aridity and reduced circulation of air in the cave are hypothesized to have slowed the normally rapid decomposition of the excreta and the subsequent escape of resultant ammonia. The results suggest the high dependency of the speed of diagenetic change on specific physical and other conditions of the caves and indicate that great care need be exercised in the interpretation of the …


The Prey Of Common Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) In Dry Limestone Scrub Forest Of Southern Jamaica, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Kimball L. Garrett Jan 1989

The Prey Of Common Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) In Dry Limestone Scrub Forest Of Southern Jamaica, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Kimball L. Garrett

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A collection of common barn-owl (Tyto alba Scopoli) pellets from caves on the Portland Ridge of Jamaica reveals that whereas introduced rodents constitute approximately 90% of the total prey, bats and birds are also frequent prey items. Of the bats, frugivorous species predominate with Ariteus flavescens Gray and Artibeus jamaicensis Leach accounting for the largest portion of the bat prey. Insectivorous bats are markedly under-represented with respect to the known diversity of insectivorous species in the habitat.