Paleonet: GSA Topical Session: mammals and climate change

[Weil, Anne]

First off, sorry for the repost if you're also on vrtpaleo.  And I apologize that every time I write it is to advertise something!

Today I'm writing to encourage and or pique the interest of any of you who are interested in presenting a paper at GSA and who might work along these lines to submit an abstract to GSA Topical Session T204, "Fossil mammalian communities across periods of pronounced climate change."

This session, organized by Jessica Theodor, Craig Scott and myself, is intended to foster interchange among research groups studying community responses to inferred climate change during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic, focusing specifically on the mammalian fossil record.  The late Mesozoic and Cenozoic record documents several notable intervals of climate change, including the Cretaceous-Paleogene event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, and the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum.  These periods are characterized by inferred differences in mean annual temperature and rainfall, periods of aridity, and levels of atmospheric carbon and oxygen.  The dense fossil record of terrestrial mammals in this interval provides an ideal dataset for examining changes in vertebrate community structure and dynamics during periods of climate change.  Topics can include, but are not limited to, the effects of climate change on taxonomic composition, relative abundance, biogeographic range, inferred dietary diversity, and morphological disparity, all of which have the potential to provide important insight into both short- and long-term community dynamics.

GSA will be held this year October 19th-22nd in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  "Fossil mammalian communities across periods of pronounced climate change" is sponsored by the Paleontological Society, and is one of a number of sessions focusing on evolution and transition.  We anticipate the opportunity for fascinating interactions at the meeting. This session is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, the first day of the meeting.

The deadline for abstract submission is midnight Pacific time on July 29th.

Hope to see you there!
Anne

________________________________________
Anne Weil, Ph.D.
Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
1111 W. 17th St.
Tulsa, OK 74107

ofc. phone: (918) 561-8266
e-mail: anne.weil at okstate.edu
ANATOMY AND VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY TRACK!  See:
http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/biomedical/anatomy/paleontology/index.php