Dr. Austin Hendy, Post-Doc, Yale University

My research
 My interests focus on understanding geologic transitions in marine invertebrate biodiversity and the quantification of various biases on these patterns, be they inherent in the fossil record, gaps in paleontological data, or methodological artifacts. Present research is focusing on how taphonomic megabiases (preservational processes that systematically distort the quality fossil record) affect marine invertebrate fossil record through the Phanerozoic (the last c. 500 million years). The diverse array of invertebrate groups (gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, trilobites, echinoderms, worms) that lived during this time preserve differently as a result of their varying skeletal or body composition and morphological or anatomical complexity. Little is known of how significantly diversity estimates, and to what degree evolutionary relationships, are affected by taphonomic megabiases which can influence various groups in differing extents.    Working with the CMC collections  Museum collections, such as those of the Cincinnati Museum Center, permit the opportunity to witness firsthand the preservation of fossil organisms from throughout the Phanerozoic and from many regions of the world without the need for time consuming and expensive fieldwork. In particular, the CMC has significant collections of invertebrate fossils from the Late Ordovician of the tri-state region, the Middle Ordovician and Middle Devonian of New York, and the Carboniferous of Indiana. Data collected from the CMC collections, such as the preservational mode of fossils (e.g. shells or molds) and the presence of key diagnostic characters (e.g. shell morphology or sculpture), will complement that collected from other large natural history museum collections, including the Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT), American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY), Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cambridge, MA), and the Smithsonian Institute (Washington DC). Results from this work will contribute towards improved estimates of past biodiversity change and our understanding of the evolution of marine ecosystems.

Friday, March 14, 2008