Taphonomic and mass-extinction research from an ichnological perspective.

Wiest, Logan A., 1987-

Taphonomic and mass-extinction research from an ichnological perspective.

dc.contributor.advisor	Driese, Steven G.
dc.creator	Wiest, Logan A., 1987-
dc.date.accessioned	2018-09-07T13:10:43Z
dc.date.available	2018-09-07T13:10:43Z
dc.date.created	2018-08
dc.date.issued	2018-05-31
dc.date.submitted	August 2018
dc.date.updated	2018-09-07T13:10:43Z
dc.description.abstract	The assemblage of Pleistocene megafauna at Waco Mammoth National Monument (WMNM) and the terrestrial Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary at Big Bend National Park are just two examples that demonstrate the peril effects of an extreme environmental perturbation on ancient ecosystems. Ichnology is the study of traces that are generated by organismal behavior; therefore, analyzing major die-offs through an ichnological lens can provide a unique perspective to understand the ethology of the survivors. At WMNM trace-fossil analysis was combined with taphonomy, which revealed that the Columbian mammoth herd was subjected to extensive vertebrate and invertebrate scavenging. These findings necessitated a re-evaluation of the causal mechanisms responsible for the death of the herd, as well as demonstrated that scavenging organisms out-survived, at least for some time, the large herbivores in this case. The application of ichnology to the terrestrial K-Pg boundary revealed new findings about the surviving organisms in response to the end-Cretaceous extinction. Herbivorous, soil-dwelling insects, as evidenced from analogous traces, were significantly reduced in body size (Lilliput effect) following the aftermath of the event. These findings, in conjunction with research on marine-organism responses, provide empirical evidence that the Lilliput effect was a phenomenon that affected surviving organisms across highly disparate trophic levels and ecosystems. Lastly, a hybrid approach of ichnology and zooarchaeology was used to develop morphological criteria for taphonomic analysts to differentiate between carnivore traces and unintentional, preparator air-scribe marks, which can be more similar than one might imagine. Utilization of an ichnological perspective to study survival behaviors from the ancient past may one day help address some of the decisions regarding our current mass extinction.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2104/10422
dc.language.iso	en
dc.rights.accessrights	Worldwide access.
dc.subject	Waco Mammoth National Monument. Pleistocene. MIS4. Mammuthus columbi. Columbian mammoth. Corrosichnia. Machichnus regularis. Machichnus bohemicus. Brutalichnus brutalis. Nihilichnus nihilicus. Cubiculum. Drought. Watering hole. Big Bend National Park. Dawson Creek. Cretaceous-Paleogene. K-Pg. Mass extinction. KT Boundary. Lilliput effect. Naktodemasis bowni. Ethology. Air scribe damage. Bioerosion. Bone modification.
dc.title	Taphonomic and mass-extinction research from an ichnological perspective.
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	text
thesis.degree.department	Baylor University. Dept. of Geosciences.
thesis.degree.grantor	Baylor University
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Ph.D.