Environmental Science at Syracuse University - Research Projects

PALEOECOLOGY ~ GEOBIOLOGY

Paleoclimate and paleoecology research in Antarctica My work fits broadly into the fields of earth history and paleobiology. My interests span a relatively diverse group of topics, however most are united in that they are concerned with how ecosystems and their component taxa evolve and respond to changes in the physical environment. Research topics have spanned the fields of paleoecology, paleoclimate, evolutionary paleobiology, and stratigraphy. Field-based projects have included both modern and ancient settings in a variety of environments, and I try to approach each study from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining paleontological techniques with geochemical and sedimentologic tools. In addition, my more theoretical work makes use of computer models to address methodological questions of how to best deal with particular types of paleoecologic and paleoclimatic data. Nope, the tide has not gone out and exposed these clams in their sandy home. These are 50 million year old Venericardia from the Hatchetigbee Formation in Alabama, beautifully preserved in life position and fortuitously exposed along the Tombigbee River banks. The Gulf Coast Paleogene is famous for its fossils. Lastly, I am involved in a large collaborative effort to construct a web-based global paleobiological database of diversity through the Phanerozoic.

Specific areas of interest include biotic and environmental change during the Paleogene, the long-term dynamics of ecological assemblages in time, and evolutionary and environmental change associated with intervals of faunal stability and turnover. Much of my work is based in the US Gulf Coastal Plain. Current projects involve reconstructing Paleogene temperatures and seasonality through microsampling and isotopic analysis of biogenic carbonate, comparison of temperature records with patterns of molluscan diversity and turnover, testing for coordinated stasis in the Eocene of the US Gulf Coastal Plain, This is a fish otolith ("ear stone") from Paleogene conger eels from the US Gulf Coast. Once polished, otoliths reveal growth banding much like tree rings. Detailed climate information stored in these structures can be revealed through microsampling and stable isotopic analysis of the aragonite in individual layers. and developing methods for comparing paleoecological datasets and for evaluating seasonal climate data.

For more information about me, please click here.

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This page last updated on January 3, 2003.