Course to the Asociación Paleontológica Argentina (APA)
Title: Isotopic tracking of vertebrate paleobiology
Lecturer: Prof. Hervé Bocherens (University of Tübingen, Germany) (assisted by
MSc Martin Cotte)
Period: first half of March 2015
Duration: 40 hours (5 days of 8 hours each)
Goals:
-
To get familiar with the use of stable isotopes in fossil bones and teeth for
paleobiological reconstructions (presentation of the most important
applications so far)
To be able to critically evaluate published paleobiological investigations
using this approach
To be able to evaluate the relevance of using such approaches for own
research
Prerequisite:
-
Basic knowledge in Zoology, Ecology and Vertebrate Paleontology
Read the articles (given in advance as pdfs) before the course
Computer with Excel
Teaching methods: lectures, exercises, article analysis
Teaching material (given to the participants): scripts of lectures, pdfs of analyzed
articles
Evaluation: level of participation and final test
Structure of the course:
Day 1:
-
Introduction
Background on stable isotopes and vertebrate ecology (4 hr)
Article analysis and exercises (4 hr)
Day 2:
-
Diagenesis and purification of biogenic fractions (4 hr)
Laboratory techniques and exercises (4 hr)
Day 3
-
Paleo-habitat reconstructions (4 hr)
Article analysis and exercises (4 hr)
Day 4
-
Paleo-diet reconstructions (4 hr)
Article analysis and exercises (4 hr)
Day 5
-
Future research directions (2 hr)
Synthesis and conclusion (2 hr)
Test and correction (4 hr)
Appendix:
List of articles to read in advance by the participants (may be slightly modified
later):
General articles:
Bocherens, H., Drucker, D. G. 2013. Terrestrial teeth and bones. in: (S.A. Elias,
Ed.) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Sciences, 2nd Edition vol. 1, pp. 304-314,
Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Clementz, M.T., 2012. New insight from old bones: stable isotope analysis of
fossil mammals. Journal of Mammalogy 93: 368-380.
Koch, P.L., 2007. Isotopic study of the biology of modern and fossil vertebrates.
In: Michener, R., Lajtha, K. (eds) Stable Isotopes in Ecology and
Environmental Science, 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishing, Boston, pp. 99154.
Koch, P.L., Fox-Dobbs, K., Newsome, S.D., 2009. The isotopic ecology of fossil
vertebrates and conservation paleobiology. In: Conservation Paleobiology:
Using the Past to Manage for the Future, Paleontological Society Short
Course, October 17th, 2009. The Paleontological Society Papers, Volume 15,
Gregory P. Dietl and Karl W. Flessa (eds.).
Case studies:
Cerling T.E., Harris, J.M., Leakey, M.G., 2005. 12. Environmentally Driven Dietary
Adaptations in African Mammals. A History of Atmospheric CO2 and Its
Effects on Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems. J. R. Ehleringer, T. E. Cerling, M.
D. Dearing (Eds) Ecological Studies Volume 177, Springer, 2005, pp 258272.
Domingo, L., Prado, J.L., Alberdi, M.T., 2012. The effect of paleoecology and
paleobiogeography on stable isotopes of Quaternary mammals from South
America. Quaternary Science Reviews 55: 103-113.
MacFadden, B.J., 2005. Diet and habitat of toxodont megaherbivores (Mammalia,
Notoungulata) from the late Quaternary of South and Central America.
Quaternary Research 64: 113-124.
Prideaux, G.J., Ayliffe, L.K., DeSantis, L.R.G., Schubert, B., Murray, P.F., Gagan, M.K.,
Cerling, T.E., 2009. Extinction implications of a chenopod browse diet for a
giant Pleistocene kangaroo. PNAS 106: 11646-11650.