Paleoecology

@techreport{greiner1957spirifer2,
    author = "Greiner, H",
    title = {Spirifer disjunctus"-its evolution and paleoecology in the Catskill Delta},
    year = "1957",
    howpublished = "Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History, Bulletin, v. 11, p. 1-75",
    note = {talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Greiner, H., 1957, "Spirifer disjunctus"-its evolution and paleoecology in the Catskill Delta: Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History, Bulletin, v. 11, p. 1-75.}}
}

@techreport{nelson1970paleoecological4,
    author = "Nelson, R. S. and Semken, H. A",
    title = "Paleoecological and stratigraphic significance of the muskrat in Pleistocene deposits",
    year = "1970",
    howpublished = "Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 81, p. 3733-3738",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Nelson, R. S., and Semken, H. A., 1970, Paleoecological and stratigraphic significance of the muskrat in Pleistocene deposits: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 81, p. 3733-3738.}"
}

The ratio of carnivorous to herbivorous dinosaur skeletons from Dinosaur Provincial Park has been cited as evidence of endothermy in dinosaurs. In living populations of large endothermic mammals, carnivore biomass represents approximately 1% of total biomass. Two models describing energy flow from herbivores to carnivores indicate that tyrannosaurids are three to four times more abundant in the fossil sample than would have been the case if they were endothermic. Either the fossil sample does not adequately reflect relative abundances of large dinosaurs in the ancient community, or large dinosaurs were ectothermic.

@article{béland1979ectothermy,
    author = "Béland, P. and Russell, D. A.",
    title = "Ectothermy in dinosaurs: paleoecological evidence from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta",
    year = "1979",
    journal = "Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences",
    abstract = "The ratio of carnivorous to herbivorous dinosaur skeletons from Dinosaur Provincial Park has been cited as evidence of endothermy in dinosaurs. In living populations of large endothermic mammals, carnivore biomass represents approximately 1\% of total biomass. Two models describing energy flow from herbivores to carnivores indicate that tyrannosaurids are three to four times more abundant in the fossil sample than would have been the case if they were endothermic. Either the fossil sample does not adequately reflect relative abundances of large dinosaurs in the ancient community, or large dinosaurs were ectothermic.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1139/e79-024",
    doi = "10.1139/e79-024",
    number = "2",
    pages = "250-255",
    volume = "16"
}

The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has yielded one of the richest dinosaur faunas of the world. Morrison sediments are distributed over more than a million square kilometers in the western United States and represent a mosaic of riverine, lacustrine and floodplain environments developed on a vast alluvial plain nourished by debris from the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Plant productivity must have been reasonably high to support abundant large-bodied herbivores, but the absence of coals, scarcity of small aquatic vertebrates, the abundance of oxidized sediments, and presence of calcretes lead us to believe that water was periodically in short supply. A strongly seasonal climate may have necessitated annual large-scale movements of large herbivores, accounting in part for their remarkably broad and uniform geographic distribution. Dinosaur diversity is lower in the Morrison than in the Late Cretaceous, and taphonomic alteration is higher. Massed accumulations of thousands of bones are characteristic of the Morrison. Morrison dinosaurs were not confined to specific depositional environments but were distributed across the complete spectrum of available habitats, from lakes to dry floodplains; this type of distribution is similar to that of large terrestrial mammals such as elephants and rhinos and is different from that of hippos and crocodiles. Common Morrison taxa were Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus and Stegosaurus; these genera probably constituted a true dinosaur community. Stegosaurus may have been partially segregated from the other genera, and Camptosaurus more strongly so. Camarasaurus and Diplodocus were gregarious, with juveniles and subadults of the former particularly common; Apatosaurus was less abundant and more solitary in its habits. Juveniles and subadults are known for a number of dinosaurs.

@article{dodson1980taphonomy,
    author = "Dodson, Peter and Behrensmeyer, A. K. and Bakker, Robert T. and McIntosh, John S.",
    title = "Taphonomy and Paleoecology of the Dinosaur Beds of the Jurassic Morrison Formation",
    year = "1980",
    journal = "Paleobiology",
    abstract = "The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has yielded one of the richest dinosaur faunas of the world. Morrison sediments are distributed over more than a million square kilometers in the western United States and represent a mosaic of riverine, lacustrine and floodplain environments developed on a vast alluvial plain nourished by debris from the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Plant productivity must have been reasonably high to support abundant large-bodied herbivores, but the absence of coals, scarcity of small aquatic vertebrates, the abundance of oxidized sediments, and presence of calcretes lead us to believe that water was periodically in short supply. A strongly seasonal climate may have necessitated annual large-scale movements of large herbivores, accounting in part for their remarkably broad and uniform geographic distribution. Dinosaur diversity is lower in the Morrison than in the Late Cretaceous, and taphonomic alteration is higher. Massed accumulations of thousands of bones are characteristic of the Morrison. Morrison dinosaurs were not confined to specific depositional environments but were distributed across the complete spectrum of available habitats, from lakes to dry floodplains; this type of distribution is similar to that of large terrestrial mammals such as elephants and rhinos and is different from that of hippos and crocodiles. Common Morrison taxa were Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus and Stegosaurus; these genera probably constituted a true dinosaur community. Stegosaurus may have been partially segregated from the other genera, and Camptosaurus more strongly so. Camarasaurus and Diplodocus were gregarious, with juveniles and subadults of the former particularly common; Apatosaurus was less abundant and more solitary in its habits. Juveniles and subadults are known for a number of dinosaurs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/s009483730000676x",
    doi = "10.1017/s009483730000676x",
    number = "2",
    pages = "208-232",
    volume = "6"
}

@misc{dodson1980taphonomy1,
    author = "Dodson, P. and Behrensmeyer, A. K. and Bakker, R. T. and McIntosh, J. S",
    title = "Taphonomy and paleoecology of the dinosaur beds of the Jurassic Morrison Formation",
    year = "1980",
    howpublished = "Paleobiology, v. 6, p. 208-232",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Dodson, P., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Bakker, R. T., and McIntosh, J. S., 1980, Taphonomy and paleoecology of the dinosaur beds of the Jurassic Morrison Formation: Paleobiology, v. 6, p. 208-232.}"
}

@misc{russell1980paleocology5,
    author = "Russell, D. A. and Beland, P. and McIntosh, J. S",
    title = "Paleocology of the dinosaurs of Tendaguru (Tanzania)",
    year = "1980",
    howpublished = "Mem. Soc. Geol. Fr., v. 59, no. 139, p. 169-175",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Russell, D. A., Beland, P., and McIntosh, J. S., 1980, Paleocology of the dinosaurs of Tendaguru (Tanzania): Mem. Soc. Geol. Fr., v. 59, no. 139, p. 169-175.}"
}

@misc{thulborn1984a6,
    author = "Thulborn, R. A. and Hamley, T. L",
    title = "A New Paleoecological Role in Archeopteryx, in Hecht, M. K., Ostrom, J. H., Viohl, G., and Wellnhofer, P., eds., The Beginnings of Birds",
    year = "1984",
    howpublished = "Eichstatt, Fruende des Jura- Museums, p. 81-90",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Thulborn, R. A., and Hamley, T. L., 1984, A New Paleoecological Role in Archeopteryx, in Hecht, M. K., Ostrom, J. H., Viohl, G., and Wellnhofer, P., eds., The Beginnings of Birds: Eichstatt, Fruende des Jura- Museums, p. 81-90.}"
}

@techreport{lockley1986north3,
    author = "Lockley, M. and Houck, K. and Prince, N. K",
    title = "North America's largest dinosaur trackway site",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Implications for Morrison Formation paleoecology: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 97, p. 1163-1176",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Lockley, M., Houck, K., and Prince, N. K., 1986, North America's largest dinosaur trackway site: Implications for Morrison Formation paleoecology: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 97, p. 1163-1176.}"
}

Isotopic studies of multi-taxa terrestrial vertebrate assemblages allow determination of paleoclimatic and paleoecological aspects on account of the different information supplied by each taxon. The late Campanian-early Maastrichtian "Lo Hueco" Fossil-Lagerstätte (central eastern Spain), located at a subtropical paleolatitude of ~31°N, constitutes an ideal setting to carry out this task due to its abundant and diverse vertebrate assemblage. Local δ18OPO4 values estimated from δ18OPO4 values of theropods, sauropods, crocodyliforms, and turtles are close to δ18OH2O values observed at modern subtropical latitudes. Theropod δ18OH2O values are lower than those shown by crocodyliforms and turtles, indicating that terrestrial endothermic taxa record δ18OH2O values throughout the year, whereas semiaquatic ectothermic taxa δ18OH2O values represent local meteoric waters over a shorter time period when conditions are favorable for bioapatite synthesis (warm season). Temperatures calculated by combining theropod, crocodyliform, and turtle δ18OH2O values and gar δ18OPO4 have enabled us to estimate seasonal variability as the difference between mean annual temperature (MAT, yielded by theropods) and temperature of the warmest months (TWMs, provided by crocodyliforms and turtles). ΔTWMs-MAT value does not point to a significantly different seasonal thermal variability when compared to modern coastal subtropical meteorological stations and Late Cretaceous rudists from eastern Tethys. Bioapatite and bulk organic matter δ13C values point to a C3 environment in the "Lo Hueco" area. The estimated fractionation between sauropod enamel and diet is ~15‰. While waiting for paleoecological information yielded by the ongoing morphological study of the "Lo Hueco" crocodyliforms, δ13C and δ18OCO3 results point to incorporation of food items with brackish influence, but preferential ingestion of freshwater. "Lo Hueco" turtles showed the lowest δ13C and δ18OCO3 values of the vertebrate assemblage, likely indicating a diet based on a mixture of aquatic and terrestrial C3 vegetation and/or invertebrates and ingestion of freshwater.

@article{doi101371journalpone0119968,
    author = "Domingo, Laura and Barroso-Barcenilla, Fernando and Cambra-Moo, Oscar",
    title = {Seasonality and paleoecology of the late Cretaceous multi-taxa vertebrate assemblage of "Lo Hueco" (central eastern Spain).},
    year = "2015",
    journal = "PloS one",
    abstract = {Isotopic studies of multi-taxa terrestrial vertebrate assemblages allow determination of paleoclimatic and paleoecological aspects on account of the different information supplied by each taxon. The late Campanian-early Maastrichtian "Lo Hueco" Fossil-Lagerstätte (central eastern Spain), located at a subtropical paleolatitude of \textasciitilde 31°N, constitutes an ideal setting to carry out this task due to its abundant and diverse vertebrate assemblage. Local δ18OPO4 values estimated from δ18OPO4 values of theropods, sauropods, crocodyliforms, and turtles are close to δ18OH2O values observed at modern subtropical latitudes. Theropod δ18OH2O values are lower than those shown by crocodyliforms and turtles, indicating that terrestrial endothermic taxa record δ18OH2O values throughout the year, whereas semiaquatic ectothermic taxa δ18OH2O values represent local meteoric waters over a shorter time period when conditions are favorable for bioapatite synthesis (warm season). Temperatures calculated by combining theropod, crocodyliform, and turtle δ18OH2O values and gar δ18OPO4 have enabled us to estimate seasonal variability as the difference between mean annual temperature (MAT, yielded by theropods) and temperature of the warmest months (TWMs, provided by crocodyliforms and turtles). ΔTWMs-MAT value does not point to a significantly different seasonal thermal variability when compared to modern coastal subtropical meteorological stations and Late Cretaceous rudists from eastern Tethys. Bioapatite and bulk organic matter δ13C values point to a C3 environment in the "Lo Hueco" area. The estimated fractionation between sauropod enamel and diet is \textasciitilde 15‰. While waiting for paleoecological information yielded by the ongoing morphological study of the "Lo Hueco" crocodyliforms, δ13C and δ18OCO3 results point to incorporation of food items with brackish influence, but preferential ingestion of freshwater. "Lo Hueco" turtles showed the lowest δ13C and δ18OCO3 values of the vertebrate assemblage, likely indicating a diet based on a mixture of aquatic and terrestrial C3 vegetation and/or invertebrates and ingestion of freshwater.},
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4373905/",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0119968",
    pmcid = "PMC4373905",
    pmid = "25806819"
}

BACKGROUND: In the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, the toothless pterosaurs flourished with the chaoyangopterids and tapejarids playing a key role in understanding the early diversity and evolution of the Azhdarchoidea. Unlike the more diverse tapejarids, the rarer chaoyangopterids are characterized by a long and low rostrum, supporting a close relationship with the huge azhdarchids. Unfortunately, our knowledge is still limited in the osteology, paleoecology, and taxonomy of the Chaoyangopteridae. As one of the best preserved skeletons, the type and only specimen of Jidapterus edentus provides an opportunity to understand the morphology and paleoecology of the chaoyangopterids. RESULTS: Our study of the osteology of Jidapterus edentus reveals valuable information about the morphology of the Chaoyangopteridae such as a rostrum with a curved dorsal profile, high Rostral Index (RI), larger angle between the dorsal and postorbital processes of the jugal, sequentially shorter fourth to seventh cervical vertebrae, sternum with a plate wider than long, contact of the metacarpal I with the distal syncarpal, pneumatic foramen on first wing phalanx, hatchet-like postacetabular process with unconstricted neck and small dorsal process, distinctly concave anterior margin of pubis, subrectangular pubic plate with nearly parallel anterior and posterior margins, longer proximal phalanges of pedal digits III and IV, as well as reduced and less curved pedal unguals. These features further support the validity of Jidapterus edentus as a distinct species and the close relationship of the chaoyangopterids with the azhdarchids. Paleoecologically, the chaoyangopterids are probably like the azhdarchids, more terrestrial than the contemporaneous and putatively arboreal tapejarids, which may have been limited to the forest-dominated ecosystem of the Jehol Biota. DISCUSSION: The osteology of Jidapterus edentus further supports the close relationship of the Chaoyangopteridae with the Azhdarchidae in sharing a high RI value and reduced and mildly-curved pedal unguals, and it also implies a possible paleoecological similarity in their terrestrial capability. Combined with the putatively arboreal and herbivorous tapejarids, this distinct lifestyle of the chaoyangopterids provides new insights into the diversity of pterosaurs in the ecosystem of the Jehol Biota.

@article{doi101371journalpone0185486,
    author = "Wu, Wen-Hao and Zhou, Chang-Fu and Andres, Brian",
    title = "The toothless pterosaur Jidapterus edentus (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota and its paleoecological implications.",
    year = "2017",
    journal = "PloS one",
    abstract = "BACKGROUND: In the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, the toothless pterosaurs flourished with the chaoyangopterids and tapejarids playing a key role in understanding the early diversity and evolution of the Azhdarchoidea. Unlike the more diverse tapejarids, the rarer chaoyangopterids are characterized by a long and low rostrum, supporting a close relationship with the huge azhdarchids. Unfortunately, our knowledge is still limited in the osteology, paleoecology, and taxonomy of the Chaoyangopteridae. As one of the best preserved skeletons, the type and only specimen of Jidapterus edentus provides an opportunity to understand the morphology and paleoecology of the chaoyangopterids. RESULTS: Our study of the osteology of Jidapterus edentus reveals valuable information about the morphology of the Chaoyangopteridae such as a rostrum with a curved dorsal profile, high Rostral Index (RI), larger angle between the dorsal and postorbital processes of the jugal, sequentially shorter fourth to seventh cervical vertebrae, sternum with a plate wider than long, contact of the metacarpal I with the distal syncarpal, pneumatic foramen on first wing phalanx, hatchet-like postacetabular process with unconstricted neck and small dorsal process, distinctly concave anterior margin of pubis, subrectangular pubic plate with nearly parallel anterior and posterior margins, longer proximal phalanges of pedal digits III and IV, as well as reduced and less curved pedal unguals. These features further support the validity of Jidapterus edentus as a distinct species and the close relationship of the chaoyangopterids with the azhdarchids. Paleoecologically, the chaoyangopterids are probably like the azhdarchids, more terrestrial than the contemporaneous and putatively arboreal tapejarids, which may have been limited to the forest-dominated ecosystem of the Jehol Biota. DISCUSSION: The osteology of Jidapterus edentus further supports the close relationship of the Chaoyangopteridae with the Azhdarchidae in sharing a high RI value and reduced and mildly-curved pedal unguals, and it also implies a possible paleoecological similarity in their terrestrial capability. Combined with the putatively arboreal and herbivorous tapejarids, this distinct lifestyle of the chaoyangopterids provides new insights into the diversity of pterosaurs in the ecosystem of the Jehol Biota.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5614613/",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0185486",
    pmcid = "PMC5614613",
    pmid = "28950013"
}

@inproceedings{andgoring2018the,
    author = "Goring, Simon",
    title = "THE NEOTOMA PALEOECOLOGY DATABASE: BUILDING COMMUNITIES AROUND PALEOECOLOGICAL DATA",
    year = "2018",
    booktitle = "Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2018am-325122",
    doi = "10.1130/abs/2018am-325122"
}

The spectacular fossil fauna and flora preserved in the Upper Cretaceous terrestrial strata of North America's Western Interior Basin record an exceptional peak in the diversification of fossil vertebrates in the Campanian, which has been termed the 'zenith of dinosaur diversity'. The wide latitudinal distribution of rocks and fossils that represent this episode, spanning from northern Mexico to the northern slopes of Alaska, provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into dinosaur paleoecology and to address outstanding questions regarding faunal provinciality in connection to paleogeography and climate. Whereas reliable basin-wide correlations are fundamental to investigations of this sort, three decades of radioisotope geochronology of various vintages and limited compatibility has complicated correlation of distant fossil-bearing successions and given rise to contradictory paleobiogeographic and evolutionary hypotheses. Here we present new U-Pb geochronology by the CA-ID-TIMS method for 16 stratigraphically well constrained bentonite beds, ranging in age from 82.419 ± 0.074 Ma to 73.496 ± 0.039 Ma (2σ internal uncertainties), and the resulting Bayesian age models for six key fossil-bearing formations over a 1600 km latitudinal distance from northwest New Mexico, USA to southern Alberta, Canada. Our high-resolution chronostratigraphic framework for the upper Campanian of the Western Interior Basin reveals that despite their contrasting depositional settings and basin evolution histories, significant age overlap exists between the main fossil-bearing intervals of the Kaiparowits Formation (southern Utah), Judith River Formation (central Montana), Two Medicine Formation (western Montana) and Dinosaur Park Formation (southern Alberta). Pending more extensive paleontologic collecting that would allow more rigorous faunal analyses, our results support a first-order connection between paleoecologic and fossil diversities and help overcome the chronostratigraphic ambiguities that have impeded the testing of proposed models of latitudinal provinciality of dinosaur taxa during the Campanian.

@article{doi101038s4159802219896w,
    author = "Ramezani, Jahandar and Beveridge, Tegan L and Rogers, Raymond R and Eberth, David A and Roberts, Eric M",
    title = "Calibrating the zenith of dinosaur diversity in the Campanian of the Western Interior Basin by CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb geochronology.",
    year = "2022",
    journal = "Scientific reports",
    abstract = "The spectacular fossil fauna and flora preserved in the Upper Cretaceous terrestrial strata of North America's Western Interior Basin record an exceptional peak in the diversification of fossil vertebrates in the Campanian, which has been termed the 'zenith of dinosaur diversity'. The wide latitudinal distribution of rocks and fossils that represent this episode, spanning from northern Mexico to the northern slopes of Alaska, provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into dinosaur paleoecology and to address outstanding questions regarding faunal provinciality in connection to paleogeography and climate. Whereas reliable basin-wide correlations are fundamental to investigations of this sort, three decades of radioisotope geochronology of various vintages and limited compatibility has complicated correlation of distant fossil-bearing successions and given rise to contradictory paleobiogeographic and evolutionary hypotheses. Here we present new U-Pb geochronology by the CA-ID-TIMS method for 16 stratigraphically well constrained bentonite beds, ranging in age from 82.419 ± 0.074 Ma to 73.496 ± 0.039 Ma (2σ internal uncertainties), and the resulting Bayesian age models for six key fossil-bearing formations over a 1600 km latitudinal distance from northwest New Mexico, USA to southern Alberta, Canada. Our high-resolution chronostratigraphic framework for the upper Campanian of the Western Interior Basin reveals that despite their contrasting depositional settings and basin evolution histories, significant age overlap exists between the main fossil-bearing intervals of the Kaiparowits Formation (southern Utah), Judith River Formation (central Montana), Two Medicine Formation (western Montana) and Dinosaur Park Formation (southern Alberta). Pending more extensive paleontologic collecting that would allow more rigorous faunal analyses, our results support a first-order connection between paleoecologic and fossil diversities and help overcome the chronostratigraphic ambiguities that have impeded the testing of proposed models of latitudinal provinciality of dinosaur taxa during the Campanian.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9512893/",
    doi = "10.1038/s41598-022-19896-w",
    pmcid = "PMC9512893",
    pmid = "36163377"
}

@inproceedings{andnorris2023intertooth,
    author = "Norris, Liam and Martindale, Rowan and Fricke, Henry and Satkoski, Aaron M.",
    title = "INTER-TOOTH VARIABILITY IN CA STABLE ISOTOPES COMPLICATES DINOSAUR PALEOECOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTIONS",
    year = "2023",
    booktitle = "Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2023am-395234",
    doi = "10.1130/abs/2023am-395234"
}