The genus Kannemeyeria is one of the most important and distinctive taxa of the Triassic dicynodonts. It became the first Triassic dicynodont known to science, and thus forms the benchmark for the comparison of the evolution and morphology of other Triassic dicynodonts. An understanding of this genus forms an integral part of the biozonation of the Beaufort Group, and is pivotal in influencing the interpretation of the evolution, physiology and phylogenetic relationships of the Triassic dicynodonts. This study focuses on the detailed cranial morphology and relationships of the Kannemeyeria, and uses a rigorous morphological investigation as the basis for a meaningful elucidation of the functional and thus physiological aspects of this dicynodont. The descriptions demonstrate that variations related to the skull size, distortion or naturally occurring variation within the genus allow for the synonymy of the formerly recognised species K. latifrons Broom (1898; 1913), K. erithrea Haughton (1915) and K. wilsoni Broom (1937). This conclusion is further supported by the allometric analysis which cannot distinguish the variation observed in the holotypes with that occurring naturally within a growth series. Apart from the large specimen, the other smaller individuals are accommodated in the genus as different ontogenetic stages of the growth series represented by K. simocephalus Weithofer (1888). Several allometric variables show unusual patterns of development, indicating that Kannemeyeria can be subdivided into ontological classes, as juvenile and adult forms, separated from each other by a particular level of development. An age-related threshold level is suggested, and considered to represent an animal reaching sexual maturity. It is consequently proposed that the Kannemeyeria population was, at an age-related level, subdivided into sexually mature and immature groups but remained ecologically homogeneous. Both the descriptions and the allometric analysis of the species K. cristarhynchus Keyser & Cruickshank (1979) clearly indicate that it does not conform to the growth series of K. simocephalus and thus the differences observed between these two taxa are not constrained to size increases. Consequently, the recognition of the species K. cristarhynchus is considered valid. From the observations of the cranial morphology, tested using an allometric analysis, generic and specific diagnoses are constructed for Kannemeyeria and its two African species. Several features of Kannemeyeria are discussed in a functional context. A corrugated hom-covered snout and large caniniform processes are considered to be associated with defence and posturing behaviour. Several features of the braincase also suggest herding behaviour. Kannemeyeria also has a slightly different occipital musculature arrangement than that proposed for many other dicynodonts. Most Kannemeyeria cranial features are related to its masticatory function. From the analysis of masticatory cycle it is clear that the jaw action is described via a single pivot-point, which in Kannemeyeria approached the original, primitive position of the jaw hinge. The vertical orientation of the articulation and this pivot-point ensured that the muscle action during second phase of mastication produced an upward crushing and grinding action instead of the typical fore-and-aft motion of many other dicynodonts. It also meant that the muscle force was at their maximum, and little or no energy was lost to translation of the moment arm at the jaw articulation. Consequently, the Kannemeyeria masticatory cycle was both highly effective and extremely efficient. The morphology, and resultant physiology, of Kannemeyeria skull is considered to represent the innovative foundation for much of the success of many of the later Triassic dicynodonts.

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Hawk Rim represents a new mid-Miocene site in Eastern Oregon. This time period offers a rare chance to observe dramatic climatic changes, such as sudden warming trends. The site is sedimentologically and stratigraphically consistent with the Mascall Formation of the John Day Basin to the north and east of Hawk Rim. Hawk Rim preserves taxa such as canids Cynarctoides acridens and Paratomarctus temerarius, the felid Pseudaelurus skinneri, castorids Anchitheriomys and Monosaulax, tortoises and the remains of both cormorants and owls. Hawk Rim has yielded a new genus and species of mustelid. As individuals these taxa are of interest, but the real story is told by the paleoecology. The lower reaches of the section have lacustrine diatomite layers as well as preserved logs, suggesting the presence of a wet, forested ecosystem as conformed by the structure of the paleosols. Climate data allow us to make analyses of large-scale ecological trends in mid-Miocene Oregon.

Student Number : 0001944J - PhD thesis - School of Geography, Archaeoloy nd Environmental Studies and School of Anatomical Science - Faculty of Science / The site of Sterkfontein is rich in fossil deposits spanning different time periods from as early as 4 million years to as recent as 116, 000 years. Stratigraphy, taxonomy, taphonomy, archaeology and palaeoenvironmental analysis from various infills have been under constant review as new materials are recovered from the ongoing excavations. It is the recovery of numerous new fossils that prompted a need for a review into earlier hypotheses, interpretations and conclusions arrived at by earlier researchers on the Member 4 and the Jacovec Cavern infills. New data indicates that the two infills, though spanning different time periods, share similarities but also display marked differences in taxonomy, taphonomy and palaeoenvironment. Taxonomically, the most striking difference between the two deposits is the higher frequency of taxa and species diversity within the Member 4 faunal assemblage than in the Jacovec Cavern faunal assemblage. There are nine bovid tribes represented in five subfamilies within Member 4 and six bovid tribes in three subfamilies within Jacovec Cavern. At least five primate species have been recovered from Member 4 while three primate species have been recovered from the Jacovec Cavern. Twelve carnivore species are represented in Member 4 while eleven are represented in Jacovec Cavern. Some categories of other fauna are limited to the Member 4 infill while others are limited to the Jacovec Cavern infill. Taphonomically, both assemblages are characterized by low frequencies of bone modification. These low frequencies are a result of a culmination of various agents of accumulation and varieties and intensities of postdepositional processes that impacted on the original deposited assemblage prior to recovery. The faunal assemblage in Member 4 was accumulated into the cave through a combination of voiding carnivores, “death trap” and natural death within the cave. The Jacovec Cavern fauna on the other hand was accumulated by carnivores, not in the cavern but on the surface above and within the vicinity of the cave entrance. Eventually fluvial action incorporated the surface materials, including faunal remains into the Jacovec Cavern. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction indicates a correlation of climatic conditions similar to that derived from analysis of terrigenous sediments off the coast of Africa. For Member 4, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction indicates the existence of a mix of forest and open savannah with more emphasis on woodland, while a mosaic of open grassland and dense forest, equivalent to today’s tropical forest in Africa is suggested for the Jacovec Cavern.

The fossilized remains of the calcite shells of foraminifera comprise one of the most continuous and reliable records of the geologic evolution of climate and ocean chemistry. The trace elemental composition of foraminiferal shells has been shown to systematically respond to seawater properties, providing a way to reconstruct oceanic conditions throughout the last 170 million years. In particular, the boron/calcium ratio of foraminiferal calcite (B/Ca) is an emerging proxy for the seawater carbonate system, which plays a major role in regulating atmospheric CO2 and thus Earth’s climate. In planktic foraminifera, previous culture studies have shown that shell B/Ca increases with seawater pH, which is hypothesized to result from increased incorporation of borate ion (B(OH)4 -) at high pH; increasing pH increases the [B(OH)4 -] of seawater. However, further experiments showed that B/Ca responds to both pH and seawater dissolved inorganic carbon concentration (DIC), leading to the hypothesis that B/Ca is driven by the [B(OH)4 -/DIC] ratio of seawater. Because pH (and thus B(OH)4 -) can be determined via the δ11B composition of foraminiferal calcite, B/Ca therefore may provide an opportunity to determine seawater DIC in the geologic past. The magnesium/calcium ratio (Mg/Ca) of foraminifer shells is a well-established proxy for seawater temperatures, where foraminiferal Mg/Ca increases at greater temperatures. However, foraminifera shell chemistry such as B/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios also depend on the major ion chemistry of seawater. For example, the seawater Mg/Ca ratio (Mg/Casw), which has increased significantly over the last 60 million years, is known to affect the sensitivity of the Mg/Ca proxy to temperature. In addition, the seawater boron concentration ([B]sw) has also increased across the Cenozoic. The dependence of B/Ca proxy relationships on Mg/Casw and [B]sw composition remains unknown. During the Paleogene era (65-34 Ma), Earth’s climate was characterized by a number of rapid warming events termed ”hyperthermals”. Evidence from the sedimentary record suggests that hyperthermals were catalyzed by rapid carbon release and caused widespread ocean acidification and deep-sea deoxygenation. These hyperthermal events present the best geologic analog conditions to anthropogenic climate change, and their study can therefore help to illuminate how the Earth system responds to rapid carbon release and warming. Planktic foraminiferal B/Ca records from the largest hyperthermal event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), show a large decrease, which agrees with the theory that ocean acidification should cause B/Ca to decline. However, the decrease is larger than can be reconciled from existing proxy calibrations conducted in modern seawater, begging the question of whether the low Mg/Casw of the Paleogene Ocean affected the sensitivity of B/Ca to the seawater carbonate system. Because there are also a number of outstanding uncertainties regarding the controls on B/Ca- including seawater [Ca] and shell growth rate, light intensity, and phosphate concentration- it is also possible that these factors contributed to the PETM B/Ca excursion. The influence of these additional parameters on B/Ca, as well as the influence of Mg/Casw, needs to be tested in controlled culture experiments. To address these outstanding questions in proxy development, I conducted a series of culture experiments in three living planktic foraminifer species- Orbulina universa, Trilobatus sacculifer, and Globigerinoides ruber (pink). In order to refine our understanding of proxy controls on foraminiferal B/Ca, I investigated how foraminiferal B/Ca is affected by variable light intensity, growth rate (indirectly via seawater [Ca] manipulation), and seawater [B]. Subsequently I tested the influence of low seawater Mg/Ca, analogous to that of the Paleocene ocean, on B/Ca-carbonate chemistry relationships. In Chapters 2 and 3, I detail how my results support the notion that planktic foraminiferal B/Ca in these three symbiont-bearing species is driven by the B(OH)4 -/DIC ratio of seawater and is not compromised by growth rate effects. Furthermore, the sensitivity of B/Ca to B(OH)4 -/DIC is increased under low Mg/Casw in both O. universa and T. sacculifer. In Chapters 2 and 3, I hypothesize that this increased sensitivity is due to decreased cellular pH regulation under low Mg/Casw, leading to a greater sensitivity of the foraminiferal microenvironment’s carbon system to external forcing. I define new culture calibrations that can be applied to records from Paleocene seawater in Chapter 3, and use these calibrations to reconstruct surface ocean DIC and the overall size of the carbon system perturbation across the PETM in Chapter 4. Finally, in Chapter 5, I show how foraminiferal Mg/Ca responds to seawater Mg/Ca and the carbon system from these same experiments, with implications for accounting for carbon system influences on Mg/Ca from early Cenozoic proxy records.

No description available.

This thesis deals with the stratigraphy and brachiopod systematic palaeontology of the latest Devonian (Famennian) to Early Permian (Kungurian) sedimentary sequences of the Tarim Basin, NW China. Brachiopod faunas of latest Devonian and Carboniferous age have been published or currently in press in the course of the Ph.D candidature and are herein appendixed, while the Early Permian brachiopod faunas are systematically described in this thesis. The described Early Permian brachiopod faunas include 127 species, of which 29 are new and 12 indeterminate, and six new genera (subgenera) are proposed; Tarimella, Bmntonella, Marginifera (Arenaria), Marginifera (Nesiotia), Baliqliqia and Ustritskia. A new integrated brachiopod biostratigraphical zonation scheme is proposed, for the first time, for the latest Devonian-Early Permian sequences of the entire Tarim Basin on the basis of this study as well as previously published information (including the Candidate's own published papers). The scheme consists of twenty three brachiopod acm biozones, most of which replace previously proposed assemblage or assemblage zones. The age and distribution of these brachiopod zones within the Tarim Basin and their relationships with other important fossil groups are discussed. In terms of regional correlations and biostratigraphical affinities, the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous brachiopod faunas of the Tarim Basin are closest to those from South China, while the Late Carboniferous faunas demonstrate strong similarities to coeval faunas from the Urals, central Asia, North China and South China. During the Asselian-Sakmarian, strong faunal links between the Tarim Basin and those of the Urals persisted, while at the same time links with central Asia, North China and South China weakened. On the other hand, during the Artinskian-Kungurian times, affinities of the Tarim faunas with the Urals/Russian Platform rapidly reduced, when those with peri-Gondwana (South Thailand, northern Tibet) and South China increased. Thirty lithofacies (or microfacies) types of four facies associations are recognised for the Late Devonian to early Permian sediments. Based on detailed lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and facies analysis, 23 third-order sequences belonging to four supcrsequences are identified for the Late Devonian to Early Permian successions, from which sea-level fluctuation curves are reconstructed. The sequence stratigraphical analysis reveals that four major regional regressions, each marking a distinct supersequence boundary, can be recognised; they correspond to the end-Serpukhovian, end-Moscovian, late Artinskian and end-Kungurian times, respectively. The development of these sequences is considered to have been formed and regulated by the interplay of both eustasy and tectonism. Using the system tract of a sequence as the mapping time unit, a succession of 47 palaeogeographical maps have been reconstructed through the Late Devonian to Early Permian. These maps reveal that the Tarim Basin was first immersed by southwest-directed (Recent geographical orientation) transgression in the late Famennian after the Caledonian Orogeny. Since then, the basin had maintained its geometry as a large, southwest-mouthed embayment until the late Moscovian when most areas were the uplifted above sea-level. The basin was flooded again in late Asselian-Artinskian times when a new transgression came from a large epicontinental sea lying to its northwest. Thereafter, marine deposition was restricted to local areas (southwestern and northwestern margins until the late Kungurian, while deposition of continental deposits prevailed and continued through the Middle and late Permian into the Triassic.

Palaeobotany illuminates past environments by relating the fossilised species to the existing geological conditions. This has previously been done with fossilised leaves and spores but not with fossilised wood. The recovery of a significant quantity of wood from an area of Tertiary sediments in New South Wales, enabled the used of fossilised wood as a palaeoenvironmental tool. Tertiary sedimentary deposits of south eastern Australia are diverse lithologically, occupy distinct areas and are limited in vertical and horizontal extent. However, samples in museum collections together with samples from field work and descriptions of fossil wood from previous researchers enabled an analysis of the fossil wood. The geological and palaeontological aspects of the fossil wood were considered for each specimen. Only specimens with precise information concerning location and description of the sedimentary deposits in which the specimens were found were investigated. Lithology, sedimentary structures and the relationship with surrounding geological units were also considered. The samples were then classified and identified. It was possible to identify fossil wood to Family level by comparison with existing taxa. In the majority of cases, identification to species level was not possible due to the lack of detail in the specimen and because features such as colour cannot be used with fossilised specimens. With Australian fossilised wood, a systematic nomenclature based on structure observed within the palaeotaxa, would be more relevant. Comparisons of cell structures with previous work on palaeoenvironmental indicators was found to be possible. Fossil wood has two uses. Firstly, as a local environmental indicator, usually in conjunction with sedimentological data, assessing the rate and direction of water flow, types of depositional environments and localised floral assemblages. Secondly, as an indicator of regional climate. Within any one particular time period, comparisons between the cellular structures of wood found in different parts of south eastern Australia show gross changes in cell size, mean growth ring size and vessel size, which enabled generalisations about climate for each epoch in the Tertiary. Palaeoclimatic indicators from the wood concurred with previous climatic interpretations based on palynology and sedimentology. Cool conditions during the Palaeocene were clearly indicated by small cells and small growth rings which gradually increased throughout the remainder of the Tertiary. Several areas e.g., Dargo High Plains, where cold conditions existed in isolation could be clearly distinguished. This corresponds with the gradual northward movement of the Australian plate with consequent increasing temperatures on the mainland.

The studies described here introduce a model for residue preservation on stone tools. They simulate stone tool manufacture in order to define parameters important for the study of DNA residues. Microscopic examination of stone tools has identified microcracks that trap DNA and protein from animal blood cells. Thorough investigation of different methods to recover residues from stone tools shows that surface washing leaves DNA and protein, trapped in subsurface microcracks. However, other extraction techniques are able to release 60-80% of DNA and protein residues. Previous research documents the identification of protein from stone tools sonicated in 5% ammonium hydroxide, but it remains untested whether the same treatment yields useable DNA. Using this treatment, I identified 13-year-old DNA residues from experimentally manufactured stone tools. In addition, results clearly indicate that washing procedures typically used to curate stone tools removed only a small fraction of the DNA deposited during animal butchery. Twenty-four pieces of chipped stone recovered from the Bugas-Holding site were studied to explore the validity of ancient DNA residue identifications. Nine tools yielded DNA residues. Modern humans did not touch three of these tools, which suggests that the DNA recovered from them was present prior to excavation. One tool, which was handled by excavators without gloves, harbored DNA from three species, and these templates competed during PCR. On at least two tools, handling after excavation introduced animal DNA unrelated to tool use. Careful testing of Bugas-Holding chipped stone suggests that stone tools may harbor both ancient and modern DNA, and that investigators must take great care to exclude modern DNA from ancient specimens. Ultimately, I developed and streamlined a method to analyze DNA-containing residues preserved on stone tools. This led to several technical improvements in ancient DNA residue analysis. These include a more effective DNA recovery protocol, methods to measure sensitivity and inhibition of PCR in each sample, and strategies to surmount competition between templates during amplification, which can occur in samples that contain DNA from multiple species. These new developments will help future investigators achieve the full potential of ancient DNA residue analysis. / Graduation date: 2003

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Young-Doo Wang, School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy. Includes bibliographical references.