Copyright by Dennis Russell Ruez, Jr. 2007
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Copyright by Dennis Russell Ruez, Jr. 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Dennis Russell Ruez, Jr., certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MAMMALIAN FAUNA COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE DURING THE ADVENT OF NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL GLACIATION IN THE PLIOCENE Committee ________________________________ Christopher J. Bell, Supervisor ________________________________ Timothy Rowe ________________________________ James T. Sprinkle ________________________________ H. Gregory McDonald ________________________________ Richard J. Zakrzewski EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MAMMALIAN FAUNA COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE DURING THE ADVENT OF NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL GLACIATION IN THE PLIOCENE by Dennis Russell Ruez, Jr., BS, MS Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For their support and patience, I thank the members of my committee: Chris Bell, Tim Rowe, Greg McDonald, Richard Zakrzewski, and James Sprinkle. Their suggestions, and those of the UT paleo graduate students, are greatly appreciated. I could not have completed this project without the incredible support of the staff at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument: Neil King, Greg McDonald, Phil Gensler, and Neal Farmer. They provided housing, financial assistance, and their knowledge of the natural history of southern Idaho, including that beyond HAFO. I also appreciate the additional field and lab assistance of seasonal interns and volunteers at HAFO: Tom Anderson, Taffi Ayers, Erica Case, Eric Foemmel, Summer Hinton, Christina Lonzisero, Robert Lorkowski, Amy Morrison, Josh Samuels, Kirs Thompson, George Varhalmi, and Sonny Wong. Mary Thompson and Bill Akersten were extremely gracious in allowing me access to the collections at the Idaho Museum of Natural History. The Department of Geological Sciences, the UT Geology Foundation, and the UT Graduate School provided financial aid to allow my extended stays in Idaho. iv EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MAMMALIAN FAUNA COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE DURING THE ADVENT OF NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL GLACIATION IN THE PLIOCENE Publication No. __________ Dennis Russell Ruez, Jr., Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2007 Supervisor: Christopher J. Bell The cooling preceding the beginning of North American continental glaciation is beautifully represented by the thick fluvial and lacustrine sequences of the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation at the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (HAFO), Idaho. This time interval is commonly studied because it contains the elevated global temperatures predicted to result from continued anthropogenic warming. The fossil mammals at HAFO were examined to see the effects of climate change on past mammalian assemblages. The nature of the fossiliferous localities at HAFO was documented to establish which localities could be considered in situ. Additionally, the structural architecture of the beds was mapped to establish an idealized stratigraphic datum to which localities were tied. This facilitated temporal comparison of the widespread v localities at HAFO. Second, a high-resolution record of climate change was created using global climate models to predict which oceanic areas varied in temperature in concert with HAFO during the middle Pliocene. Data from deep-sea cores from those oceanic areas were combined to create a proxy temperature pattern; such a detailed record from terrestrial data in the Glenns Ferry Formation is not currently possible. Selected mammalian groups, carnivorans, insectivorans, and leporids, were examined in light of the established climatic patterns. The cooling through the lower portion of the Glenns Ferry Formation corresponds to variation in the morphology of individual species, the relative abundance of species, and the species-level diversity of mammalian groups. There is a return to warm temperatures near the top of the section at HAFO, and the mammals returned to the conditions exhibited before the cool-temperature extreme. This faunal resilience, however, occurred over hundreds of thousands of years. The final paleoecologic approach established correlations between the species diversity of groups of modern mammals and modern climatic values. Many modern groups were found to be highly-significantly correlated to climate, but when the established predictive equations were applied to HAFO, the results were variable. Estimates of annual precipitation varied widely, depending on the taxonomic group, and also deviated from precipitation estimates from sedimentology. Temperature patterns were more consistent with each other and with the pattern of the deep-sea core proxy. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………….xvi LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………….xviii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE DISSERTATION …….…………….1 Study Area…………………………………………………………………1 Ecological Scales ………………………………………………………….2 Faunal Cohesion …………………………………………………………...7 Format of the Dissertation…………………………………………………8 CHAPTER 2. FRAMEWORK FOR STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE MIDDLE PLIOCENE FOSSILIFEROUS DEPOSITS AT HAGERMAN FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, IDAHO ….……………….11 Abstract …….…………………………………………………………….11 Introduction ……………….……………………………………………..12 Stratigraphic Nomenclature …….……………………………………….14 Late Cenozoic History of the Hagerman Area …………….……………..18 Mammal-Producing Fossil Localities ……………………………………23 Glenns Ferry Formation ……………………….…………………23 Hagerman Horse Quarry …………………………………24 vii Anthills ………….………………………………………..27 Surface Float .…………………………………………….28 Blowouts …………………………………………………29 Other Fossiliferous Formations at HAFO ……………………….33 Chronology of the Glenns Ferry Formation ……….…………………….37 Vertebrate Biochronology ……………………………………….37 Magnetostratigraphy ……………………………………………..39 Radiometric Dates ……………………………………………….40 Development of Hagerman Horse Quarry Datum ……………….43 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………53 CHAPTER 3. MIDDLE PLIOCENE PALEOCLIMATE IN THE GLENNS FERRY FORMATION OF HAGERMAN FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, IDAHO: A BASELINE FOR EVALUATING FAUNAL CHANGE ….55 Abstract ………………………………………………………………….55 Introduction ………………………………………………………………56 Previous Climate Data from the Glenns Ferry Formation ……………….58 Seasonality ……………………………………………………….58 Precipitation/Surface Moisture …………………………………..60 Sedimentology……………………………………………………61 Other Terrestrial Paleoclimatic Records in the Western U.S.……………63 Global Paleoclimate in the Pliocene ……………………………………..63 viii Global Circulation Models ………………………………………64 Pliocene Climate from Deep-Sea Cores …………………………65 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………73 CHAPTER 4. REVISION OF THE BLANCAN MAMMALS FROM HAGERMAN FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, IDAHO ………………….76 Abstract ………………………………………………………………….76 Introduction ………………………………………………………………77 Brief History of Vertebrate Paleontology at HAFO ……………..79 Nature and Age of Glenns Ferry Formation at HAFO …………..79 Paleoclimate in the Pliocene …………………………………….80 Materials and Methods …………………………………………………..81 Systematic Paleontology …………………………………………………86 Xenarthra …………………………………………………………86 Megalonychidae ………………………………………….86 Megalonyx leptostomus ………………………….86 Insectivora ………………….……………………………………90 Soricidae …………………………………………………90 Sorex hagermanensis …………………………….91 Sorex powersi …………………………………….92 Sorex meltoni …………………………………….94 Sorex cf. Sorex rexroadensis …..…………………98 Paracryptotis gidleyi ……………………………101 ix Talpidae…………………………………………………105 Scapanus hagermanensis ……………………….105 Lagomorpha …………………………………………………….107 Leporidae ……………………………………………….107 Hypolagus edensis………………………………107 Hypolagus gidleyi ………………………………113 Alilepus vagus ………………………………….118 Rodentia ………………………………………………………...125 Sciuridae ………………………………………………..125 Paenemarmota barbouri ………………………..125 Spermophilus sp. A (small) ……………………..129 Spermophilus sp. B (large) ……………………..132 Spermophilus sp. C (medium) ………………….134 Indeterminate Spermophilina …………………..135 Geomyidae ……………………………………………..135 Thomomys gidleyi ………………………………135 Pliogeomys parvus ………………….………….137 Heteromyidae …………………………………………..139 Oregonomys magnus ……………………………139 Perognathus maldei …………………………….141 Prodipodomys idahoensis ………………………142 Castoridae ………………………………………………145 x Castor californicus ……………………………..145 Procastoroides intermedius ……………………148 Muridae …………………………………………………152 Sigmodontinae ………………………………….152 Peromyscus hagermanensis …………….152 Baiomys aquilonius ……………………..156 Baiomys minimus ……………………….157 Neotoma cf. Neotoma quadriplicata ..….159 Arvicolinae ……………………………………..161 Ophiomys taylori ……………………….161 Cosomys primus ………………………...166 Ondatra minor ………………………….169 Mictomys vetus …………………………174 Carnivora………………………………………………………..176 Ursidae ………………………………………………….176 Ursus abstrusus …………………………………176 Mustelida ……………………………………………….180 Trigonictis macrodon …………………………..180 Trigonictis cookii ……………………………….185 Sminthosinis bowleri ……………………………187 Ferinestrix vorax ………………………………..189 Taxidea sp.………………………………………191 xi Satherium piscinarium ………………………….193 Buisnictis breviramus …………………………..198 Mustela rexroadensis …………………………..200 Felidae …………………………………………………..202 Homotherium sp. ……………………………….202 Megantereon hesperus ………………………….205 Puma lacustris ………………………………….210 Lynx rexroadensis ………………………………214 Miracinonyx inexpectatus ………………………217 Canidae………………………………………………….222 Canis lepophagus ……………………………….222 Borophagus hilli ………………………………..226 Perissodactyla …………………………………………………..228 Equidae………………………………………………….229 Equus