Conceptualizations of actual biological patterns as preserved in the fossil record must accommodate the results of biotic and abiotic drivers of faunal dynamics. However, those conceptualizations also may reflect cognitive biases resulting from foundational philosophical stances. Whether fossils are conceptualized as the remains of biological entities or as geological objects will affect both taxonomic identifications and secondary inferences derived from those identifications. In addition, operational research bias centered on relativistic views of ‘importance’ of particular components (i.e., taxonomic or skeletal region) of the assemblage results in preferential documentation of some taxa and marginalization of others. I explored the consequences of those specific cognitive and operational biases through examination of Triassic and Eocene faunal assemblages in western North America. For the Triassic I focused on taxonomic and systematic treatments of Paleorhinus, a group of phytosaurs important for the establishment of biochronologic correlations. Specimen-level reexamination of Paleorhinus supported a restricted usage of Paleorhinus as a clade, dissolved a biochronologic connection between terrestrial and marine deposits, and indicated a prior compression of the early part of the Late Triassic as a result of previous conceptualizations of species. I reexamined the Otis Chalk tetrapod assemblage in light of new specimens and modern phylogenetic frameworks. My examination supported a restricted usage of the Otischalkian for biochronologic correlation of the Late Triassic, and emphasized the importance of apomorphic character-based specimen examinations in conjunction with detailed lithostratigraphy prior to the development of biochronologic schema. For the Eocene I focused on undocumented terrestrial reptiles from the late Uintan fauna of West Texas. Specifically I discovered new taxa and new geographic occurrences of amphisbaenians and caimanine crocodylians. The amphisbaenians represent the southernmost record of the clade in the North American Paleogene, and, when combined with other amphisbaenian records, document that the clade responded to late Paleogene climatic changes in ways different from the inferred mammalian response. The new taxon of caimanine crocodylian represents a new geographic and temporal record of that clade. That new record indicates that the biogeographic range of extant caimans represents a climate-driven restriction from a formerly more expansive range, and suggests that the previous geographic and temporal gap in paleodistribution data is related to sampling biases and is not a solely a biological phenomenon. These data indicate that reliable characterization of vertebrate faunal dynamics requires open acknowledgment and appropriate documentation of cognitive and operational biases that affect interpretations of paleontological data. / text

Caribou have a longstanding cultural and environmental role, and have interacted with human groups across time. This thesis is a consideration of these interactions, exploring prehistoric and historic patterns of caribou usage by Cree people in northern Manitoba. Through zooarchaeological analysis, an ethnohistorical review, and community workshops and interviews with York Factory First Nation, the relationship between caribou populations and Cree use is illustrated, providing insight into abundance, movements, and the socio-cultural value of caribou over time. In doing so, context is provided for the present-day situation: connections between historical and modern herds are drawn, population and migration changes are highlighted, and the impact of hunting pressures, climatic variation, habitat changes, and food availability on caribou populations are contemplated. Caribou have long been central to the seasonal economy in northern Manitoba, and the use of these animals reflects their abundance and value.

Caulerpa taxifolia is a marine alga notorious for its introduction and subsequent colonization of the Mediterranean Sea. It is recognized as one of the 100 worst invasive species, and it is suggested that much of its expansion may have been at the expense of native seagrass beds. To date, the bulk of research on C. taxifolia has centred on quantifying expansion and methods of eradication. There are few quantitative data on the relationship between C. taxifolia growth and environmental characteristics (e.g. light, temperature, nutrients). Furthermore, once C. taxifolia has been introduced to a system it is exceptionally difficult and expensive to eradicate. Accordingly the implications, both positive and negative, of this new habitat type must be considered in the context of the new habitat mosaic into which it fits. Australia is unique in that it has both native and invasive populations of C. taxifolia. These populations offer not only an opportunity to examine the dynamics of C. taxifolia beds and their associated communities at different latitudes and temperature and light regimes, but especially in the context of a high diversity marine coastal environment. The objectives of this thesis were to use native (Moreton Bay, Queensland) and invasive (Pittwater, New South Wales and Port River, South Australia) populations of C. taxifolia to: 1) quantify the relationship between environmental drivers (light, temperature, nutrients) and C. taxifolia growth, and 2) examine differences in habitat use and function between seagrass, C. taxifolia, unvegetated substrate. Most of the locations in Australia where large C. taxifolia beds occur are adjacent to urban areas that have a degraded water quality. Manipulative experiments in Moreton Bay demonstrated that nutrients stimulate C. taxifolia growth, however, light availability and seasonality appear to influence the response of C. taxifolia growth to nutrients. Short-term manipulative experiments were conducted across a range of seasons and locations, to capture the effects of temperature on growth. Temperature was the dominant factor affecting rate of stolon extension in both native and invasive locations. Colonization potential of C. taxifolia appears to be driven by ambient water quality (light and nutrients) and bed expansion is driven by temperature in systems where nutrients are saturating. Epifaunal communities sampled by beam trawl were dominated by the families Palaeomonidae, Terapontidae, Scorpaenidae, Monacanthidae, Syngnathidae, Gobiidae, and were largely similar between seagrasses and C. taxifolia; however, syngnathids were absent from C. taxifolia beds. I examined habitat use patterns between seagrass (Zostera muelleri), C. taxifolia, and unvegetated substrate. Fish preferred seagrass to C. taxifolia; however, in the absence of a seagrass fish used C. taxifolia. While C. taxifolia may have similar structural benefits to some seagrasses, there are fewer food resources available within C. taxifolia beds. Furthermore, grazing may be limited to a few specialist grazers. Within the habitat mosaic, C. taxifolia will provide some benefit over an unvegetated substrate; however, that benefit might mask losses in system quality or resilience by decreasing the threshold level for change within the community. Therefore, should a perturbation occur (e.g. sudden drop in water temperature, filamentous algal bloom) a system comprised solely of seagrass could withstand such stress; however, a habitat mosaic of seagrass and C. taxifolia could have a rapid and dramatic loss in its ability to sustain a diverse faunal community. Ultimately, it is most important to protect the system from anthropogenic degradation so it is more resilient to environmental changes.

Since their discovery 150 years ago, Neanderthals have been considered incapable of behavioural change and innovation. Traditional synchronic approaches to the study of Neanderthal behaviour have perpetuated this view and shaped our understanding of their lifeways and eventual extinction. In this thesis I implement an innovative diachronic approach to the analysis of Neanderthal faunal extraction, technology and symbolic behaviour as contained in the archaeological record of the critical period between 80,000 and 30,000 years BP. The thesis demonstrates patterns of change in Neanderthal behaviour which are at odds with traditional perspectives and which are consistent with an interpretation of increasing behavioural complexity over time, an idea that has been suggested but never thoroughly explored in Neanderthal archaeology. Demonstrating an increase in behavioural complexity in Neanderthals provides much needed new data with which to fuel the debate over the behavioural capacities of Neanderthals and the first appearance of Modern Human Behaviour in Europe. It supports the notion that Neanderthal populations were active agents of behavioural innovation prior to the arrival of Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe and, ultimately, that they produced an early Upper Palaeolithic cultural assemblage (the Châtelperronian) independent of modern humans. Overall, this thesis provides an initial step towards the development of a quantitative approach to measuring behavioural complexity which provides fresh insights into the cognitive and behavioural capabilities of Neanderthals.

The Norton Stage (2500-1000 cal B.P.) of the Norton Tradition is typically characterized as a caribou hunting and fishing culture, an idea developed by James Giddings through his formative work at the Iyatayet Site in Norton Sound. The concept of Norton fishers and caribou-hunters has been promoted by the long-term research of Don Dumond in the Naknek and Ugashik drainages on the Alaska Peninsula. While the northern Alaska Peninsula has historically productive salmon runs and abundant caribou populations, the concept that these taxa were essential to the Norton subsistence economy has not been critically evaluated. Giddings based his own assessment of Iyatayet subsistence practices on the animal harvest practices of contemporary Norton Sound Alaska Native communities, rather than directly from the faunal remains he identified during excavations. Several faunal assemblages have been recovered from southwest Alaska, which provide the opportunity to test assumptions regarding Norton subsistence practices. Most of these assemblages come from the Bering Sea coast, a vastly different environment from more temperate coast of the Alaska Peninsula. In an effort to directly document Norton subsistence practices, I procured a sizeable faunal assemblage that Robert Shaw excavated in 1985 from 49-XHI-043 and 49-XHI-044. These sites are located on Summit Island, a nearshore island 6 km from the shoreline of northwest Bristol Bay. Prior to my research, no analysis of the Summit Island collection had been conducted. As a result, an assessment of the faunal remains was not possible until I analyzed field notes to establish stratigraphic relationships and procured radiocarbon dates from the sites. I was able to confirm the presence of three discrete analytical components associated with Norton culture including Early Norton I (2740-2380 cal B.P.), Early Norton II (2400-2000 cal B.P.), and Late Norton (1390-980 cal B.P.). My analysis of 9,981 mammal and bird bone specimens resulted in the documentation of an intensive marine-focused subsistence economy. Over approximately 2,000 years, generations of Norton peoples harvested seals, walruses, murres, cormorants, and eiders from the Walrus Island chain. Terrestrial and riverine species were not well represented in the assemblage, despite the proximity of the mainland.

Current knowledge of past vegetation and faunal diversity has been based on pollen and macrofossil analysis from lake sediments. The innovative method of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) is a promising, complementary proxy to reconstruct information about past environments. However, to what extent animal DNA can be extracted from old sediments and soils has not been frequently studied. This study explored if ancient DNA of moose (Alces alces), reindeer (Rangifer tarangus), goat (Capra aegagrus) and plants could be extracted from millennia old lake sediments of Lake Krigstjärn and archaeological soil samples in northern Sweden. SedaDNA was successfully extracted and detected from both reindeer and plants DNA, while goats sedaDNA was absent in all sediments. Moose ancient DNA (aDNA) was only detected in the archaeological soils. Yet, there were signs that the applied moose primer set was not optimal for heavily degraded DNA and the validity of this primer needs further research. Earliest detections of reindeer DNA can be dated to ~6500 c. years ago. Oldest sediments contained DNA, indicating sufficient DNA preservation conditions in the sediments of Lake Krigstjärn. Finds of plants DNA in pre-deglaciational sediments may indicate the existence of >9500 year old glacial vegetation. Altogether is sedaDNA a highly promising tool to reconstruct diversity, origin and immigration routes of mammals, but technical issues such as primer set specificity and its purpose should be considered and tested carefully in advance.

No presente trabalho, investigamos a associação entre a fauna de macroinvertebrados e o folhiço em riachos de montanha da região sul do Estado de São Paulo. Os principais objetivos da tese foram: caracterizar o folhiço e a fauna de macroinvertebrados associada em mesohábitats de remanso e de corredeira (Capítulo 1); testar os efeitos das características das folhas sobre o seu processamento e sobre a fauna de macroinvertebrados aquáticos (Capítulo 2); acompanhar o processo de degradação de folhas de espécies vegetais com diferentes características físicas (resistência foliar) e químicas (conteúdo de fenóis totais), bem como estudar a sua colonização pela fauna de macroinvertebrados (Capítulo 3). A densidade, riqueza padronizada de táxons e composição faunística de macroinvertebrados associados ao folhiço apresentaram variação entre remanso e corredeira, porém esta relação esteve condicionada ao tamanho do riacho. Os compostos fenólicos e a resistência foliar isoladamente não influenciaram a degradação do folhiço, e não houve efeito da riqueza de espécies vegetais sobre a perda de massa foliar. A densidade, riqueza padronizada e composição faunística de macroinvertebrados não foram influenciadas pelas características estruturais e químicas iniciais das plantas; possivelmente, outras características químicas das espécies vegetais que não foram consideradas no presente trabalho podem ter sido mais importantes para explicar estes componentes da fauna. Houve um aumento da densidade de macroinvertebrados ao longo do tempo, no entanto, a densidade não foi afetada pela espécie vegetal. A riqueza não foi afetada por nenhum dos dois fatores. Por outro lado, foi possível observar um forte gradiente de composição faunística ao longo do tempo, o qual foi dependente do tipo de folha. / In this work we investigated the link between the macroinvertebrate fauna and litter detritus in forested mountain streams, in the southern São Paulo State. The main goals of this thesis were: to describe litter detritus and its associated macroinvertebrate fauna in riffles and pools (Chapter 1); to test the effects of leaf properties on litter processing and on the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna (Chapter 2); to follow the processing of litter from plant species with different structural (leaf toughness) and chemical (total phenolic compounds) features, as well as the colonization by macroinvertebrates fauna (Chapter 3). Density, standardized taxonomic richness and faunal composition of macroinvertebrates found in litter showed variation between riffles and pools, although this relationship was subject to stream size. Phenolic compounds and leaf toughness alone did not influence litter decomposition, and no effect of leaf species diversity was found for leaf mass loss. Density, standardized taxonomic richness and faunal composition of macroinvertebrates were not affected by structural or chemical features of the litter; it is likely that other chemical aspects of the leaves might have played a more important role. We observed an increase in macroinvertebrate density throughout time, however, density was not dependent of leaf species. Taxonomic richness was not affected either by time or plant species. On the other hand, we observed a strong gradient for faunal composition along time, and this association showed an interaction with leaf species.

The Paşalar fauna includes 56 mammalian species of European. Asian, African and North American origin. Evidence provided on the stage-of-evolution of the primates Sivapithecus darwini and cf. Kenyapithecus, the rodent Turkomys pasalarensis, insectivores, carnivores, rhinos, suids and ruminants suggests that Paşalar is correlative with the Late Langhian marine stage and European Mammal Neogene Zone 6., circa 15 Ma (million years ago). A review of the Paşalar fauna's biogeographic history suggests that it was aggregated by a succession of pulsed intercontinental geographic extensions tied to global sea-level lowering events during the earlier half of the Miocene.

My thesis seeks to answer the broad questions: can early foragers alter marine resources in island settings and can archaeological data provide insights into these changes. These questions highlight two important issues. The first issue reflects the common belief that small-scale societies did not affect their environments. The second issue centers on growing concern over the collapse of fisheries across the globe. To answer these questions, I use fish bones recovered from an archaeological site located in Belmont, Jamaica near the Bluefields Bay marine sanctuary. The Bluefields Bay site dates to the late Taíno occupation of Jamaica. The name Taíno refers to the peoples who greeted Columbus. I conduct my analyses through the identification of the faunal bones to lowest taxonomic level, and apply the theoretical tool known as resource depression to detect declines in the relative abundance of large-bodied fishes, reductions in fish body size, and changes to fish community composition. I found significant changes in body size and diversity of fishes through time, pointing to shifts in the marine ecosystem due to human exploitation that occurred nearly a thousand years ago.

Community succession, the orderly changes a community experiences with time, is considered to be the result of either autogenic or allogenic factors working singularly or in combination. It has been further suggested that, as communities undergo succession, certain biological parameters change in a predictable manner. Examination of members 2 through 4 of the Mississippian (KinderhookOsage) Lodgepole Formation of Samaria Mountain, Idaho provides a means to evaluate these concepts. Within the study section comprised of 125 beds (61.5 m thick), four rock types are recognized. These include: (1) fossiliferous wackestone (78% of beds), which ranges in color from dark-gray (N3) to medium-light gray (N6), is fine to coarse crystalline, has an average insoluble content of 3.1 percent by weight, and an average organic content of 0.25 percent by weight; (2) fossiliferous mudstone (1S% of beds), which ranges in color from dark-gray (N3) to medium-gray (NS), is very fine to fine crystalline, has an average insoluble content of 2.3 percent and an average organic content of 0.30 percent by weight; (3) fossiliferous packstone (6% of beds), which ranges in color from medium-gray (NS) to light-gray (N7), is medium to coarse crystalline, has an average insoluble content of 3.3 percent by weight and an average organic content of O. 17 percent by weight; and (4) crystalline carbonate (1% of beds), which is light-gray (N7) in color, is coarse crystalline, has an insoluble content of 9.3 percent by weight, and an organic content of 0.2 percent by weight. However, at ninety-five percent confidence level, no statistical relationship could be seen between the rock types and either the insoluble contents or the organic content. Twenty-one taxa, including corals, brachiopods, crinoids, blastoids, gastropods, echinoids, and sharks were recognized, with most taxa ranging throughout the study section. Well-preserved fossils are generally rare. However, this deficiency seems to be due to weathering of the containing strata rather than to currents acting on the skeletons prior to burial. Orientational data support this conclusion. Measurements of the direction (vector) from the apical end to the calical end of the horn coral Zaphrentis show that the orientations of toppled corals is random. Two biological parameters are calculated for each of the bedding surfaces examined, i.e., diversity and calcified biovolume. Diversity is calculated two ways, i.e., in terms of equitability, and in terms of richness. For richness, values range from 0.0 to 7.41, with a mean of 4.12, and for dominance diversity, values range from 0.0 to 1.95, with a mean value of 0.87. Calcified biovolume, which is used as the basis for inferences involving biomass, ranges from 0 to 30,015 cubic centimeters per bedding surface, with a mean value of 744.1 cubic centimeters per bedding surface. Three faunal associations, as well as several sub-associations within the three major associations, are indicated by the clustering of indices of affinity. These associations include: (1) Zaphrentis-Crinoid- Syringopora-Echinoid-Cleiothryridina-Unispirifer-Spirifer-Orthotetes- Flexaria-Camarotoechia-Schizophoria-Lithostrotionella; (2) Cruziana-Dwelling tube; (3) Shark-Blastoid-Helminthopsis. Trophic relationships within the three associations suggest that they were the result of two factors: (1) the tendency towards a vertical stratification of the association's members, which resulted in a more efficient use of the water column; (2) direct physical interaction among association members, in the form of predator-prey or symbiotic relationships. The former type of interaction may have been operative between the sharks and blastoids of faunal association 3. Environmental reconstruction involved the determination of four parameters: (1) paleocurrent direction and intensity; (2) sedimentation rate; (3) bathymetry; and (4) substrate. From the study of both physical and biological evidence, it is concluded that, during the time of Lodgepole deposition a very weak, unidirectional current, or multidirectional currents of similar competency operated over a carbonate-mud substrate. Evidence suggests that the sedimentati on rate was extremely low, and that the Eh= 0 line was just below the sediment-water interface. The water depth at this location was probably below normal effective wave base, but above the zone of oxygen depletion. Study of fossils on bedding surfaces overlying barren bedding surfaces or surfaces containing fossil hash, suggests that four successional stages can be recognized. Because changes in the faunal composition between the various successional stages appear to take place both with (10 times), and without lithologic changes (16 times), it is concluded that succession may result from either biological modifications of the environment or physical changes. Therefore, succession was both autogenically or allogenically controlled. Additionally, the comnrunities were retrograded to an "earlier" successional stage 24 times within the 125 bed succession. As succession proceeded through the successional sequence, values for equability-diversity and calcified biovolume generally increase. This trend is in agreement with previously predicted trends. With succession the overall trend observed in the trophic structure appears to be one of an increase in the proportion of filter feeders in the community relative to the proportion of deposit feeders in the community.