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Class
of '03
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Research
& Collections
"In research, as in life, you sometimes have to kiss a lot of toads before finding your prince." - Jen Maloney |
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24 May 2003 - 2 August 2003 A total of 20 students and teachers were selected to participate in the '03 session of the Research Training Program, including three (3) international students; 2 from Canada and 1 from Bolivia. In addition to the 13 RTP students, this summer we also welcome two (2) students through the University of Notre Dame - National Museum of Natural History Internship in Anthropology Program who joined RTP events; two (2) teachers were selected to participate in the '03 session of the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Program; two (2) minority high school students were selected to participate in the Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students (RAMHSS) program; and one (1) education professional through a Research Opportunities Award (ROA). Schedule
of Events |
Poster |
Program
Summary
Meet the
2003 participants Research
Training Program
Class of '03
Skye Chang, Dalia Palchik, Beth Bollwerk, Jocelynn Johnson, Toccarra Thomas, Miguel Fernandez, Nancy Price, Brittany Meagher, Lesley Gregoricka, Raul Diaz, Abby Moore, Mandy Cass, Danielle Royer, Stephanie Johnson, Jen Maloney.  Read the student personal summaries about their summer Program Summary This summer the Research Training Program celebrated 23 years (1980 - 2003) of inspiring the next generation of scientists by hosting 15 very talented natural history undergraduates, 2 middle and high school math and science teachers, plus 2 high school students. More than 200 undergraduates from around the world competed to join this summer's session. Those selected to participate in the program include international students from Canada and Bolivia. During their ten weeks in-residence at the National Museum of Natural History students pursued a variety of interesting natural history research topics. In addition to their research, students and teachers participated in a curriculum of lectures, behind-the-scenes tours, technique demonstrations, discussions, and field trips that focused on exploring natural history science and developing the skills necessary to become effective researchers and ambassadors of natural history studies. The '03 summer session of the Research Training Program was made possible by grants from:
REU at the Smithsonian: Research Training Program is a ten-week, museum-based research experiences for undergraduates site featuring the unique opportunity for undergraduate students to explore research and study in the natural history sciences through unparalleled access to the collections, facilities and scientific community of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Established
in 1910, the NMNH is home to one of the best assemblages of natural history
collections and professional scientists. The community of 189 professionals
from more than three agencies plus visiting researchers and graduate students
represents the world's largest collective of scientists dedicated to the
study of natural and cultural history. The research environment features
124 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites,
and human artifacts from worldwide locations. The collections provide
inspiration for new discovery and essential evidence for much of what
we already know about the world around us, including documentation of
changes in the earth and climate, evolutionary history of plants and animals,
and human origins and culture. Since 1980 the Research Training Program has actively participated in the education and inspiration of the next generation of scientists in the biological, geological, and anthropological sciences. Encouraging confidence and competence in the research process is the cornerstone of this program. Emphasis is placed on providing a first-time opportunity for undergraduate students, especially underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities, to be involved in active research participation in the natural history sciences including students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in research projects such as students from institutions where research opportunities in the natural history sciences are limited. The scope of the program was expanded to include positions for 2 high school math and science teachers to join the program and 2 high school students to also participate in RTP research and curriculum. Their participation was coordinated by an education professional through a Research Opportunities Award. Participants are provided housing, travel, stipend, and research support. Under the mentoring guidance of one of Smithsonian's expert research scientists, participants pursue individualized, hypothesis-testing research topics in the biological, geological or anthropological sciences. Research findings are shared through a variety of media including electronic publications, written manuscripts, and oral presentations. To conduct their research, participants are given exceptional, full and free access to all NMNH facilities and resources including the extensive collections, libraries and laboratories. Participants come together several times each week as a group to join an interactive series of lectures, discussions, workshops, field trips, social events, and collection tours highlighting the diversity of scientific disciplines, research techniques, and career choices available in the natural history sciences. Community interaction and communication is fostered through the Academic Resources Center (ARC), a community gathering space reserved for students in-residence at the NMNH to gather. Notes:
The RTP office remained open and staffed through 7:00 p.m. Sunday (2 Feb 03) to answer questions and address concerns. |
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Last Name
|
First Name
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Home University | Year in School | Citizenship | Research Advisor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
|
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| Cass | Amanda | Mount Holyoke College | Junior | US | Lynne Parenti | |
| Chang | Skye | University of Hawaii, Manoa | Non-graduating Senior | US | Doug Owsley | |
| Diaz | Raul | University of California, Berkeley | Junior | US | Kevin de Queiroz | |
| Fernandez | Miguel | Universidad Mayor de San Andres | Graduating
Senior |
Bolivia | Don Wilson | |
| Johnson | Jocelynn | University of Manitoba | Junior | Canada | Ed Vicenzi | |
| Johnson | Stephanie | Cornell University | Junior | US | Ted Schultz | |
| Maloney | Jennifer | West Virginia University | Sophomore | US | Mike Wise | |
| Meagher | Brittany | University of California, Riverside | Sophomore | US | Jim Luhr | |
| Moore | Abigail | University of Utah | Non-graduating Senior | US | Harold Robinson | |
| Palchik | Dalia | Tufts University | Sophomore | US | Mary Jo Arnoldi | |
| Price | Nancy | Richard Stockton College of New Jersey | Junior | US | Brian Huber | |
| Royer | Danielle | University of Toronto | Graduating Senior |
Canada | Rick Potts | |
| Thomas | Toccarra | Smith College | Freshman | US | Mary Jo Arnoldi | |
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| Bollwerk | Elizabeth | University of Notre Dame | Junior | US | Risa Arbolino | |
| Gregoricka | Lesley | University of Notre Dame | Sophomore | US | Melinda Zeder | |
|
Research Experiences for Teachers |
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| Marchizza | Michael | Largo High School | . | US | Elizabeth Zimmer | |
| Rountree | Clemontene | Alice Deal Junior High School | US | John Pandolfi | ||
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Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students |
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| Patino | Sebastian | Lubbock
High School TEXAS |
Sophomore | US | Alma Solis | |
| Whiteclay | Nicole | Crow
Agency High School MONTANA |
Senior | US | Dorothy Lippert | |
|
Research Opportunities Award |
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| Lim-Thompson | Soo-Yin | University
of Minnesota, Crookston MINNESOTA |
. | US | Mary Sangrey | |
RESEARCH
TRAINING PROGRAM
2003
STAFF
Director:
Mary Sangrey
Assistant: Elisa Maldonado
 Mary Sangrey |
|
Research
Summaries
24
May 2003 - 2 August 2003
Cass | Chang | Diaz | Fernandez | J. Johnson | S. Johnson | Maloney | Meagher | Moore | Palchik | Price | Royer | Thomas
Bollwerk | Gregoricka | | Marchizza | Rountree | | Patino | Whiteclay | | Lim-Thompson
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
A preliminary survey of the dorsal gill arches of flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) and an examination of potential phylogenetic consequences
|
Amanda Cass Lynne R. Parenti &
G. David Johnson |
 |
The flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) are a diverse and widespread order of fishes
united by their ocular asymmetry. Due to their reduced skeletal morphology,
much of their classification is based on loss and fusion characters, especially
those of the caudal skeleton. Though these characters are used in other classifications
and may be phylogenetically informative, no studies of pleuronectiform ontogeny
have been conducted to determine homologies of the remaining elements, thus
making them a weak tool for phylogenetic analysis. Another character system
used to determine phylogenies is the gill arches, specifically the dorsal complex.
To date, no systematic study of the Pleuronectiformes has included a detailed
analysis of gill arch variation. The aim of the current study was to document
variation within this structure across taxa and determine whether this variation
was great enough to be phylogenetically informative and warrant further study.
Representatives from each of 10 families were prepared for dissection via clearing
and counter-staining. The gill arches were removed from these specimens, observed
and documented. Pleuronectiform gill arches were found to vary widely, with
several characters delineating previously identified taxa and others drawing
connections between groups thought to be only distantly related. Further studies
including more taxa are planned and may elucidate the underlying patterns present
in this important character system. It is hoped that these studies will shed
some light on the obscure interrelationships of these fishes.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation
Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Lost and Found: Forensic Analysis of an 1862 Cast Iron Coffin
|
Skye Chang Douglas Owsley, Ph.D.
|
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Valuable information on the past, its people, and the societies they lived in
can be obtained from archaeological contexts, among which human remains and
burials provide a detailed source of information. The discovery and excavation
of a cast iron coffin from the Civil War period comprises an exceptional opportunity
to study relatively well-preserved human remains and associated artifacts.
This research focuses on the compilation of historic data and information collected from the examination of a skeleton derived from a cast iron coffin. This coffin was excavated from Pulaski, Tennessee in 2002 during the relocation of a known historic family cemetery. The burial contained the only unmarked cast iron coffin, thus an investigation to reveal the identity of the individual was desired prior to its reburial. Historical documentation regarding the primary and secondary excavations, casket manufacture, and genealogical information were examined alongside textile and skeletal data in order to identify the remains as those of Isaac Newton Mason (1828-1862), a private in the 1st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Phylogenetic relationships among corytophanine iguanid lizards inferred from morphological characters
|
Raul Diaz Kevin de Queiroz,
Ph.D. |
 |
Corytophanine lizards are unique within the Iguanidae in having head crests and casques supported by the posterior extension of the parietal bone as well as having lateral fringes of skin along their hind digits which allots them added surface area aiding them in their bipedal locomotion across the surface of water. Their neotropical distribution extends from Mexico to Colombia, with its main concentration in Central America. Three genera of corytophanines have traditionally been recognized, Basiliscus (four species), Corytophanes (three species), and Laemanctus (two species). The crests also appear to develop after birth and are more pronounced in male than in female Basiliscus; in contrast, they develop in the embryos and are of comparable size in males and females of Corytophanes and Laemanctus. The function of the head crests is not yet well understood. The phylogenetic relationships among the species of corytophanine lizards will be estimated using morphological characters. Characters will be obtained from the literature and verified and supplemented using museum specimens. Phylogenetic relationships will be estimated from those data using parsimony and likelihood methods and compared with estimates based on molecular data. Combined analyses of morphological and molecular data will also be performed. Constrained phylogenetic analyses will be used to test various hypotheses about the systematics and evolution of corytophanine lizards, including hypotheses about the monophyly of various groups, the evolution of head ornamentation, and historical biogeography.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Testing a predictive model of amphibian distributions for Bolivia
|
Miguel Fernandez Don Wilson, Ph.D. |
 |
In Bolivia today, there is no balance between the many conservation problems and the time and resources available to confront them. Often social and political concerns outweigh any conservation attempts. The identification of priority sites for conservation is necessary and urgent in this country, requiring the implementation of faster and more useful tools to set priorities. Using the NMNH database and other sources, combined with a Geographical Information System (Arc View®), Leptodactylid richness will be analyzed for Bolivia, a map of the localities will be built, and then it will be compared with a predictive distribution model for the same taxa, created by Steffen Reichle for his doctoral thesis. From this analysis, the distribution for each genus will be used to suggest conservation approaches. This project will highlight all regions with high levels of amphibian's richness that were not considered inside Reichle's model. This research is important because, together with other studies in different taxa, it can be used to improve the Bolivian National System of protected areas.
This research
was supported by the Alice Eve Kennington Internship Endowment.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
A Microchemical Investigation of Fossilized Wood: Biological Preservation and the Influence of Mineralization
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Jocelynn Johnson Ed Vicenzi, Ph.D.
|
 |
The degree of structural change in fossilized wood may be directly linked to the minerals that replace the cellular structure. Improved knowledge of the amount of biological structure that can be preserved in the process of petrifaction of easily recognized organisms increases the chances of identifying microorganisms in other geological samples. As the project deals with both biological organisms and minerals, four things were taken into consideration: species of plant, amount of decay, and minerals present, and the most suitable imaging technique(s) for each specimen. Of the six fossil wood specimens that were analyzed in this study, two were identified to the genus level, Callixylon sp., an extinct conifer, and Salix sp. the common willow, both were remarkably well preserved. The remaining four specimens were unidentifiable as decay was too far progressed prior to mineralization. The ages of the specimens ranged from Miocene-Pliocene to Devonian. Nine minerals were identified in the six samples. The specimens have one dominant mineral, and may have up to four additional accessory minerals. The dominant minerals were chalcedony (SiO2), opal (SiO2onH2O), hematite (FeO2), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), limonite (FeOHo nH2O), and apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH,F,Cl), and may also occur as accessory minerals. The remaining three minerals occurring only as accessory minerals were pyrite (FeS2), calcite (CaCO3), and barite (BaSO4). Generally, specimens mineralized with common mineralizing agents such as chalcedony, apatite, or calcite more faithfully retain the original cellular structure than specimens that were mineralized with more rare minerals such as hematite or limonite. Determination of the amount of structure preserved and by which minerals, was accomplished through the use of seven imaging techniques. A structure that may be clearly visible in one technique, may be completely obscured in another, this validates the need for complimentary techniques. Light-based methods included: transmitted, reflected and polarized light microscopy. Electron-based methods included: back scattered electron imaging and x-ray mapping using the scanning electron microscope, charge-contrast imaging using the environmental scanning electron microscope, and cathodoluminescence imaging using a cathodoluminoscope.
This research
was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Women's Committee Internship Endowment
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Cyphomyrmex longiscapus one fungus-growing ant species or many?
|
Stephanie Johnson Ted Schultz, Ph.D. |
 |
Found commonly on the banks of small streams in the wet forests of Panama, Colombia, and Costa Rica, Cyphomyrmex longiscapus sensu lato is an ideal organism for the study of the evolution of fungus-growing behavior and cultivar specificity. Morphometrics, nest size and architecture, and other evidence suggest that C. longiscapus s. l. may actually be a complex of several cryptic species that are new to science. C. longiscapus s. l. specimens were collected from three disjunct localities: (i) La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, (ii) Bocas del Toro, Panama, and (iii) Darien, Panama. A sample of specimens from each locality were mounted on pins, and a subset of the pinned specimens was selected for measurement; sampling included as many nests as possible in order to eliminate any nest bias. Three standard ant measurements, head width, head length, and Weber's length, were taken for 33 ants from Bocas Del Toro, 24 ants from La Selva, and 41 ants from Darien. Specimens representing all three ant castes (workers, reproductive females, and males), were measured digitally using a Leica M40 microscope tethered to a JVC digital camera driven by Automontage software. The resulting data were analyzed and compared to those produced by a previous study of the Colombian C. longiscapus type series and C. longiscapus ants from central Panama using ANOVA tests and general linear modeling with SYSTAT software. Field observations suggest that the nest architecture of the Costa Rican and Bocas del Toro populations are very different from that of the central Panamanian C. longiscapus populations. The number of workers per nest also differs greatly between typical central Panamanian C. longiscapus populations, which average approximately 20 workers per nest, and the Bocas del Toro population, which averages hundreds of workers per nest. My morphometric analysis indicates that there are significant differences in head width and Weber's length between the different populations. The combined evidence suggests that the populations studied may actually be different cryptic species; however, additional morphological study and genetic analysis are needed before any firm conclusions can be made.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Cathodoluminescence Study of Feldspars from the Black Mountain Pegmatite, Maine
|
Jennifer Maloney Mike Wise, Ph.D. |
 |
The Black Mountain pegmatite, located in Oxford county, Maine, is an internally zoned granitic pegmatite that contains many replacement features that are caused by late-stage fluids. The reaction of the residual fluids with other minerals can be observed using cathodoluminescence (CL). Albite commonly replaces pre-existing minerals, and occurs in three varieties in the pegmatite: saccharoidal albite, cleavelandite, and blocky albite. With the exception of blocky albite, each variety replaces other minerals (potassium feldspar, quartz, muscovite, lepidolite, and spodumene) in all zones of the pegmatite. The principal feature that is observed in the albite is the reduction of luminescence wherever replacement occurs. The exact reason for this is still not known, but there are several possibilities that can be considered: 1) the incorporation of a quenching agent in the albite during the replacement process, 2) the reduction of activators (Ti4+, Mn2+. Fe2+, Fe3+) in albite during the breakdown of replaced minerals, and 3) an increase in the amount of activating elements leading to concentration quenching in the albite.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Looking South of Iceland Through Volcanic Glasses
|
Brittany Meagher Jim Luhr, Ph.D. |
 |
Iceland has been hypothesized to not only be a hot spot but also a wet spot. This would mean that water contents of Mid Ocean Ridge Basalts (MORBs) would increase as Iceland is approached along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from the south. To test this hypothesis twenty-eight samples were obtained from the Smithsonian Sea-Floor Glass Collection. The majority of these samples run along the Reykjanes Ridge just south of Iceland. These samples were analyzed for H2O using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Upon analyzing the results of this method, it was found that H2O increases as Iceland is approached from the South along the Reykjanes Ridge. Similar increases can also be seen in the abundances of K2O and P2O5. This is what was expected since K (potassium), H (hydrogen), and P (phosphorus) are all incompatible elements in basaltic systems. One way to explain this increase in incompatible elements is to argue that there is a lower percent of melting happening beneath Iceland compared to the southern Reykjanes Ridge. However, since Iceland is known to be a very active hot spot, where anomalously large volumes of magma have erupted, the idea of lowering the percent melting to provide an explanation for the abundance of incompatible elements does not make sense. The logical alternative explanation is that the Icelandic hot spot must come from an enriched mantle source, in turn showing that Iceland is indeed not only a hot spot but also a wet spot.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
The delimitation of Viguiera pazensis and V. procumbens (Asteraceae)
|
Abigail Moore Harold Robinson, Ph.D.
|
 |
The genus Viguiera Kunth in H.B.K. is in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae (the sunflower family). It has been credited with more than 150 species native to the New World. Two of these species are V. pazensis Rusby and V. procumbens (Pers.) S.F.Blake, both from the Andes. S. F. Blake, in his 1918 monograph of Viguiera, claimed they were distinct species and gave characters for distinguishing between them. Blake's hypothesis was tested by examining herbarium specimens of both putative species to determine if they represent two species or one variable species. It was concluded that they represent the same species because no characters could be found to distinguish them. Viguiera pazensis was thus synonymized with V. procumbens because V. procumbens is the older name. In addition, Viguiera in its traditional sense is polyphyletic. Therefore, V. procumbens and its relatives will be transferred into the genus Rhysolepis S.F.Blake, whose type they are more closely related to than the type of Viguiera. Viguiera procumbens will become Rhysolepis helianthoides once it has been transferred to Rhysolepis, from an earlier name, Sanvitalia helianthoides L. Rich. in Willd., which was blocked from use in Viguiera.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
A Short Case-Study of Key Issues Surrounding Gender and Economics in Mali as Observed Through the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
|
Dalia Palchik Mary Jo Arnoldi, Ph.D. |
 |
The West African country of Mali has a rich cultural heritage with dynamic artisan and music traditions. In that heritage, the role of women is continually important and often separate from the roles played by the men. This research sought to document Mali's participation in the 37th Annual American Folklife Festival held on the National Mall in Washington, DC and study issues pertaining to women's role in the Diaspora. Research focused on the eight women presenting their regional cuisines in the "Foodways" demonstrations and secondarily on the Diaspora seen through a Malian woman living in the U.S. who was able to translate the Malian languages and culture to the American public. Data were collected through observing, photographing and videotaping demonstrators' and artisans' exhibitions, performances, and free-time. Additionally, interviews were conducted with participants and volunteers. Key issues included women's and Mali's relationship with modernization and with the open market, urbanization, the importance of the woman in the family's economy, cultural and ethnic traditions and identification, dynamics between government and NGO programs for women and girls. In Mali, a country who's cultural heritage is held in high regard by people both in the highest and lowest classes, the Festival was an opportunity not only to inform the American public of its rich culture of today and yesterday, but also an opportunity for its government to make important steps towards the economic improvement of one of the poorest countries in the world. In observing and interacting with the upper-class urban women of the "Foodways" exhibition, parts of their involvement in the Malian economic arena through cuisine and entrepreneurship became apparent.
This research
was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences
for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Planktonic Foraminiferal Turnover and Paleoceanographic Change Across the Aptian-Albian Boundary in the Subtropical North Atlantic
|
Nancy Price Dr. Brian Huber, Ph.D.
|
 |
It has been long recognized that the Aptian-Albian boundary in the Cretaceous marks an evolutionarily significant turnover in planktonic foraminiferal assemblages. This turnover, which precedes the deposit of black shales during the Ocean Anoxic Event 1b of the Albian, is best seen in the primarily diagenetically unaltered, pristinely preserved samples from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1049 located in the subtropical North Atlantic. The change in foraminiferal assemblages, which occurs abruptly over a very short stratigraphic interval, is marked by an overall drop in species diversity and is characterized by a loss of the large-sized species bearing pore mound wall texture in favor of smaller smooth-walled species. Stable isotope values were used as to infer and compare, for the first time, relative depth ecologies of species from across the Aptian-Albian boundary, as well as, to make conclusions about paleoceanographic change. Oxygen isotope values in the late Aptian indicate that the mixed surface waters were cool, or highly saline, with a slight cooling just prior to the boundary. This, however, was followed by an abrupt -2.0‰ shift to more negative oxygen isotope values that coincides with the boundary indicating a warming trend that marks the onset of OAE 1b. In addition, a -2.0‰ shift in carbon isotope values at the base of OAE 1b directly coincides with the extinction of Ticinella bejaouaensis and other larger planktonic species, an event that defines the stratigraphic location of the Aptian-Albian boundary at 145.26 mbsf. The simultaneous and abrupt changes of both the planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and the stable isotope values in conjunction with the onset of Ocean Anoxic Event 1b at the Aptian-Albian boundary indicate that changes associated with that event had a profound effect on the climate, oceanography, and biota of North American oceans. Further study of this interval is required, however, to make any conclusions about a definable cause for the faunal turnover at the Aptian-Albian boundary.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation
Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512
|
Research
Abstract
|
Smithsonian
Institution - National Museum of Natural History
Research Training Program
2003
________________________________________________________
Early Human Stone Tools at Olorgesailie, Kenya
|
Danielle Royer Dr. Richard Potts,
Ph.D. |
 |
Our ancestors have been making stone tools for over two million years. At Olorgesailie, located in the Rift Valley of Kenya, in Eastern Africa, paleoanthropologists have excavated over 20,000 stone tools that are nearly one million years old. From these pieces of stones modified into useful tools, paleoanthropologists can decipher clues about the behaviour and activity patterns of early humans across an ancient landscape. In this research project, some of the questions we sought to answer include 1) did early humans use the entire landscape equally and in the same way, 2) did early humans know that different stones made tools of different quality, and 3) did early humans use particular types of stones to make tools for specific activities. By mapping the location of all excavated areas and the location of each source of stone raw material within the Olorgesailie basin, we were able to measure the distance between the place where a tool was made and used, and the place where that stone originally came from. This allowed us to observe some interesting patterns that give us insight into early human behaviour. At Olorgesailie, it appears that early humans were quite selective about where to make stone tools and where to use them: stone tools are not distributed equally across the landscape, but instead they form clusters. Our research also demonstrates that early humans knew the value of good stone raw material, seeking out high quality stone from sources further away, while nearly ignoring lower quality stones closer to them. Furthermore, some areas of the ancient landscape have a high frequency of tools made from a particular type of stone raw material. This may indicate that early humans were engaging in specific activities requiring the use of tools of a particular type. This project is part of on-going research at Olorgesailie.
This research
was supported by the National Science Foundation Human Origins Initiative (Award
Number BCS-021851) and the Bill and Jean Lane Internship Endowment.
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You are HERE. To continue select the next option.
Like
the rest of the Nation, we in the Research Training Program were
saddened by the tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia on 01/02/03
and understand that many of our applicants, and their references,
may have been distracted by Saturday's news events and therefore
not focused on completing RTP application documents so as to meet
our February 1st deadline. While the prescreening proceeded as
planned on 3 Feb 03, rather than blocking access immediately on
the 1st, we left the application system open through 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, 2 Feb 03 so as to accommodate submissions.
