Centrosaurus apertus, a large bodied ceratopsid from the Late Cretaceous of North America, is one of the most common fossils recovered from the Belly River Group of Canada. This fossil record shows a wide diversity in morphology and size, with specimens ranging from putative juveniles to fully-grown individuals. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the ontogenetic changes that occur in the craniofacial skeleton of C. apertus through a quantitative cladistic analysis. Forty-seven cranial specimens were independently coded in separate data matrices for 80 hypothetical multistate growth characters and 130 binary growth characters. Analyses were executed under heuristic searches with all characters unordered and equally weighted. Both analyses yielded the max-limit of 100,000 most parsimonious saved trees and the strict consensus collapsed into large polytomies, so a 50% majority rule consensus was obtained to recover structure in the data. In order to reduce conflict resulting from missing data, fragmentary individuals were removed from the data matrices and the analyses were rerun under a branch and bound search for both multistate and binary data sets. The multistate analysis yielded a single most parsimonious tree, while the binary analysis yielded thirteen equally most parsimonious trees. A strict consensus of the thirteen trees collapsed into a polytomy in the most mature individuals, but the resolved portion is consistent with the tree recovered in the multistate analysis. Among both the complete and the reduced data sets the multistate analyses recovered a shorter tree with a higher consistency index (CI) than the additive binary data sets. The arrangement within the trees show a progression of specimens with a recurved nasal horn in the least mature individuals, followed by specimens with straight nasal horns in relatively more mature individuals, and finally specimens with procurved nasal horns in the most mature individuals. The supraorbital unit, however, shows no consistent pattern of development. The parietal horns develop relatively early, becoming long and curved in some of the least mature skulls. In relatively mature individuals these structures resorb, leaving the horns with a withered appearance. This resorption continues in the most mature individuals until much of the horn is gone. The development of the parietal and nasal horns may represent a heterochronic process (i.e. peramorphosis) in centrosaurine evolution, where juvenile morphology is similar to that of basal neoceratopsians, whereas the adult condition is comparable to that of derived centrosaurines. Bone textural changes were found to be sufficient proxies for relative maturity in individuals that have not reached adult size. Additionally, frill size is congruent with relative maturity status and makes an acceptable proxy for ontogenetic status, especially in smaller individuals. In adult-sized individuals, the fusion of the epoccipitals and the orientation of the nasal horn are the best indicators of relative maturity. There is no clear evidence for sexually specific characters or sexual size dimorphism in C. apertus. / Geology

This thesis investigates the development of an animatronic robot with the objective of showing how modern animatronic models created as special effects have roots in models created during the scientific and mechanical revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is noted that animatronic models that are available today have not been described in any great detail and most are covered by industrial secrecy. This project utilises technologies developed during the latter part of the 20th century and into the beginning of the 21st century to create the design of the animatronic robot. The objective of the project is to bring effective designs for animatronic robots into the public domain. The project will investigate a large variety of different mechanisms and apply them to various functioning parts of the model, with the design and method of each of these functions discussed. From this, one main part of the project, the jaw, will receive the focus of construction. Once the construction is complete this will be evaluated against what improvements and changes could be made for future iterations, with a revised design produced based on what has been learned.

Culminating with a dream, this project transverses theoretical and geographical boundaries with explorations into the message-carrying potential of video, sound, performance, print, and web. Stories and content are extracted from an autobiographical history of one small western town turned boomtown. That town, the center from which the project emerges, is Vernal, Utah.

The holotypic locality of the brachiosaurid titanosauriform sauropod, Abydosaurus mcintoshi, is quarry DNM-16, located in Dinosaur National Monument. The bones are preserved near the base of a heterolithic, trough cross stratified to planar bedded sandstone channel complex. The trough cross to planar bedded sandstones mark times of variable flow with times of high flow velocity based on bones whose upper surfaces were eroded before final burial. The abundance of mud with the dominant medium to fine sand, and poorly confined sandstone channels indicate the bones were transported and buried in medial to distal intermittent flows of a distributive fluvial system. The quarry is at the base of the Naturita Formation, the base of which is latest Albian in age. The sauropods lived and died in the middle Cretaceous as the Cretaceous seaway advanced southward. The unconformity below the Naturita Formation and on top of the underlying the Ruby Ranch Member represents the LK-2 sequence boundary. The quarry produced ~260 bones, all of which represent Abydosaurus, except for several small theropod teeth, denoting a single catastrophic event acting on a group of sauropods. About one-third of the bones occur in close association or articulation, including three skulls (one articulated with the first five cervical vertebrae), five limbs, and strings of caudal vertebrae. There is no evidence of preburial weathering or breakage, and trample scratch marks are rare. More than 20% of the bones exhibit irregular, mm-scale pits occur on the shafts and the articular ends of limb bones are commonly hollowed out. The irregular pits are termite foraging traces, and hollows indicate extensive mining by these insects. At least seven individuals of Abydosaurus are present, representing at least two ontogenetic stages (juveniles and subadults).Together, these observations indicate the following: (1) the catastrophic death of a sauropod herd; (2) partial carcass maceration; (3) minor transportation, including articulated units (skulls, vertebrae, limbs); (4) rapid burial in migrating, ephemeral, branches of a distributary fluvial system; (5) channel migration resulting in in-situ scouring of the upper surface of some bones; (6) burial of scoured bones. Termite infestation occurred both prior to, and after, fluvial entrainment and burial.

The Carnegie Quarry in northeastern Utah is world-renowned for the dinosaur skeletons it has produced and for its in situ display of dinosaur bones. The specimens excavated at Carnegie Quarry are displayed and curated in 20 repositories, most in North America. Data on these specimens in the forms of notes, photographs, publications, field maps, and so on, are scattered in an array of formats and institutions. The primary goal of this thesis is to develop a database linking these data with a digital map (GIS system) to make them readily accessible. To this end, a relational database was created using Microsoft Access linked to a vector-based map developed using Avenza MAPublisher running in Adobe Illustrator. Analyzing these data, the Carnegie Quarry produced 4146 specimens representing at least 105 individuals pertaining to 18 genera; 12 dinosaurs, one crocodylomorph, two turtles, Unio utahensis (a freshwater clam), and one plant. The map is based on high resolution photographs of the current quarry face merged with historic maps of previously excavated portions of the quarry. Previous attempts to develop a complete map were hindered by the large number of maps, primarily from four institutions that excavated at the site, and the lack of an accurate map of the current quarry face (due to substantial relief, the 67° dip of strata, and the lack of a permanent grid). The new maps will provide invaluable insights into the depositional setting, taphonomy and paleoecology of the site. The map and database provide a single access point for data on specimens from 20 widely dispersed repositories linking them their original quarry positions. This expandable tool will be invaluable to scientists and the caretakers of Dinosaur National Monument and is recommended for adoption at other quarries.

The Green River canyons of the eastern Uinta Mountains have experienced a 5- year period of high debris flow activity. Catchment factors were studied in watersheds and on debris fans with recent debris flows, leading to the development of a conceptual framework of the hillslope and debris flow processes that deliver sediment to the Green River. Two recent fan deposits were monitored to determine the magnitude and processes of reworking that occur during mainstem floods of varying magnitude. The dominant debris flow initiation mechanism, termed the firehose effect, occurs when overland flow generated on bedrock slopes cascades down steep cliffs and saturates and impacts colluvium stored in bedrock hollows, causing failure. The dry climate and high strength of bedrock cause hillslopes to be weathering-limited, prohibiting the formation of extensive regolith and vegetative cover. This reduces the degree vegetation regulates geomorphic processes and causes wildfire to have little influence on debris flow initiation. The dry climate and strong rocks also lead to high runoff ratios and steep escarpments that result in debris flow initiation via the firehose effect. This initiation process also dominates in Grand Canyon, where geologic and topographic characteristics are similar, but differs from locations in the Rocky Mountains where fire has a strong influence on debris flow processes. Monitoring of two recently aggraded debris fans shows that mainstem floods with magnitudes as low as 75% of the pre-dam 2-year flood cause significant erosion of fan deposits, whereas floods with magnitudes less than 40% of the pre-dam 2-year flood do little reworking. Armoring of the debris fan surface limited the degree ofreworking done by successive floods. Eroded material was deposited directly downstream of the fan, not at the expansion gravel bar. This depositional location represents a change in the organization of the fan-eddy complex, potentially altering the location of recirculating eddies and associated backwater habitats. These results indicate that the firehose effect may be the dominant initiation processes in the steep canyons of the Colorado Plateau and that dam releases that significantly rework fan deposits are within the operational range of large dams in the Colorado River system.

This dissertation examines how the modern dinosaur—fully mounted, freestanding assemblages of vertebrate fossils such as we are accustomed to seeing at the natural history museum—came into being during the late 19th and early 20th century, focusing especially on the United States. But it is not just, or even primarily a history of vertebrate paleontology. Rather, I use dinosaurs as an opportunity to explore how science was embedded in broader changes that were happening at the time. In particular, I am interested in tracing how the culture of modern capitalism—the ideals, norms, and practices that governed matters of value and exchange—manifested itself in the way fossils were collected, studied, and put on display. During the second half of the 19th century, America experienced an extended period of remarkable economic growth. By the eve of WWI, it had emerged as the world’s largest producer of goods and services. At the same time, paleontologists were unearthing the fossil remains of marvelous creatures the likes of which no one had ever dreamed in the American west. The discovery of dinosaurs like Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Triceratops prompted the nation’s wealthy elite to begin cultivating an intense interest in vertebrate paleontology. In part, this is because dinosaurs meshed well with a conventional narrative that celebrated American exceptionalism. Dinosaurs from the United States were widely heralded as having been larger, fiercer, and more abundant than their European counterparts. Not only that, but their origins in the deep past meant that dinosaurs were associated with evolutionary theory, including the conventional notion that struggle was at the root of progress. Finally, it did not hurt that America’s best fossils hailed from places like Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. This is precisely where most of the raw materials consumed by factories could also be found. As they coalesced into a coherent social class, American capitalists began to patronize a number of elite cultural institutions. Just as Gilded Age entrepreneurs invested considerable resources in the acquisition of artworks, so too did they invest in natural history. However, whereas the acquisition of artworks functioned as a display of refined aesthetic sensibilities, the collection of natural history specimens primarily represented another form of social distinction, one that combined epistemic virtues like objectivity with older notions of good stewardship and civic munificence. Capitalists who had grown rich off of the exploitation of America’s natural resources turned to dinosaur paleontology as a form of cultural resource extraction. / History of Science

Thesis (M.R.M.)--Acadia University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-161). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Dinosaur National Monument, in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, is comprised of 206,409 acres and contains several deer winter ranges. A need for deer studies developed because of winter deer mortality and deteriorating range conditions'on some parts of the Monument. Approximately 500 deer winter on the Yampa Bench and approximately 300 deer winter on the Island Park winter range. These are the two main winter ranges within the Monument. Deer on the Yampa Bench migrated an average of 7.3 air miles to the south and summered on the Blue Mountain Plateau during the summer of 1966. This Plateau is owned by the Bureau of Land Management and private individuals. Deer from the Island Park winter range migrated an average of 22.6 air miles to the northwest in 1967, onto the Diamond Mountain Plateau and the Ashley National Forest. Deer tagged on the Split Mountain winter range were found to travel to the south and west. These deer summered mainly upon private lands. Deer remain on Harpers Corner approximately 10 months of the year until deep snows force them to lower elevations on Yampa Bench in early February and from which they return in early April. Vegetation composition and density data gave evidence that the deer and sheep which use the west end of the Yampa Bench are competing for forage. Carrying capacity data suggest that sheep use of this area be reduced. Carrying capacity data for the Split Mountain range suggest that cattle use should be reduced. If grazing use was kept off this area until June, the grasses would have a better opportunity to put on good growth before utilization of them began. Other winter ranges within the Monument are well within their carrying capacity limits. Thus, a safeguard exists on most winter ranges against deer winter mortality. The physical condition of deer on the Monument's winter ranges was very good during the winters of 1966 and 1967. Consequently, deer winter mortality was found to be slight on the Monument's ranges during these two winters. A few does remain on winter range areas within the Monument to summer. They generally 'use the river islands and the relatively inaccessible canyon slopes as fawning grounds. Nearly all of the deer that winter within the Monument migrate to higher elevations off the Monument to summer. This makes them subject to reduction by hunting. Deer hunting pressure on the hunting units adjoining the Monument has in recent years been sufficient to keep deer numbers within their respective winter range carrying capacities.

Three paleo-environments were studied. The first project concerned the Manson Impact and the effect of the Black Hills on the resulting fall-out from this asteroid strike. Samples of the Crow Creek Member were taken east of the Black Hills in Nebraska and South Dakota and samples from the Red Bird Member were taken from the west, in Wyoming. These samples were examined for chemical weathering, soot, shocked quartz, and fossils. The Crow Creek samples had shocked quartz (indicative of an impact), severe chemical weathering, soot, and evidence of tsunamis. There were few calcareous fossils. The Red Bird showed no signs of chemical weathering, a distinct absence of soot and shocked quartz and an abundance of fossils. These results indicate that the Black Hills were large enough to pose an atmospheric and oceanic barrier to the effects of the Manson Impact. The second project dealt with dinosaur eggs which were found in Montana. The eggs were examined and subjected to Computed Tomography Scans. The egg-shell, matrix, and volcanic ash were studied. The egg-shell was found to be from an undescribed oolithic species, and revealed that a transgressive event transpired after the eggs had fossilized. The matrix revealed that the eggs were laid in a flood-plain. The ash revealed a high amount of tungsten and yielded a high percentage of potassium for future dating. The eggs themselves revealed that intact embryos were within. This project has provided information on dinosaur nesting behavior. In the third project corals were examined to determine the usefulness of sampling different architectural structures for evaluating environmental proxies. Coral was collected at the Verde Reef. The different architectural structures were sampled using SIMS, and LA-ICP-MS to selectively sample the small architectural structures. Oxygen isotope ratios and elemental: calcium ratios were compared among the different structures. It was found that dissepiments intake isotopic oxygen and elements at different rates than other structures. This has an impact in sampling corals for environmental proxies, but, because of the very small amount of mass contained in the dissepiments that bulk analyses would not be significantly affected.