DOCSLIB.ORG

The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1994 The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia Mark Eugene Mort College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Botany Commons Recommended Citation Mort, Mark Eugene, "The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia" (1994). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625879. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-nb6e-cb98 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Biology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Mark Eugene Mort 1994 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Mort Approved, July, 1994 r2>py»i2 )V. fi.lJ&yz, Donna m 7 E. Ware, Ph.D. Committee Chair C. fC. 'Berquxaci J r . , flh. D. Geology radner W. Coursen, Ph.D mjjdxiStewart A.Q.Ulm. Ware, Ph.D. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................ V LIST OF TABLES......................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES........................................ vii ABSTRACT............................................... viii INTRODUCTION........................................... 2 HISTORY................................................. 9 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION................................... 13 METHODS................................................. 21 HABITATS AND VEGETATIONAL ANALYSIS..................... 25 DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORDS AND ANNOTATED CHECKLIST....... 52 LITERATURE CITED....................................... 118 iii For my grandfathers Thomas C. Barnitz and Francis E. Mort iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks are extended to the members of my thesis committee- Bradner Coursen, Stewart A. Ware, C. R. Berquist, Jr. , and Donna M. E. Ware, chairperson of the thesis committee. I would especially like to thank Donna Ware whose enthusiasm and encouragement have been untiring. Several of my peers have also given freely of their time during this study. Michelle Mabry, Kristen Clements, and Troy Weldy assisted in field work and provided much moral support. I would especially like to thank Michelle Mabry, who gave freely of her time throughout the entire study. Undying thanks are extended to Helen Mort for her assistance with field work and all other aspects of this project. Her love and support have allowed me to complete this endeavor. I would like to acknowledge Alton M. Harvill, Jr. and Mark Strong for their assistance in identification of several difficult species. Also many thanks to Jewel Thomas for her assistance in slide preparation and photography. The residents of Prince George County deserve recognition for only through their support can a study such as this can be completed. I would especially like to thank Joseph Joseph, Claude Frazier, James Enochs, and Barry Brady of the James River Wildlife Refuge. v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Climate Data, Hopewell, Virginia.............. 14 2 Composition of Stand SB, A Small Intermittent Stream Bottom.......... 2 9 3 Composition of Stand LB, A Larger Stream Bottom....................... 31 4. Composition of Stand EP, An Early Pine Forest......................... 34 5. Composition of Stand PM, A Pine-Mixed Hardwood Forest................. 3 6 6. Composition of Stand MH, A Mixed Hardwood Slope....................... 3 9 7. Composition of Stand HK, A Hardwood Slope with Mt. Laurel Understory.. 4 0 8. Composition of Stand BW, An Upland Plateau Hardwood Stand............. 4 3 9. Composition of Stand WH, A White Oak-rich Upland Plateau Forest with a Holly Understory...................... 44 10. Composition of Stand RB, A Forested River Bluff....................... 4 6 11. Summary of Taxa.............................. 57 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of the State of Virginia and Prince George County.................... 4 2. Map of the Study Area....................... 6 3. Map of the Physiographic Regions of the Coastal Plain of Virginia............... 15 4. Geologic Core taken at Hopewell, Virginia... 17 5. Map of the Study Area with Locations of Vegetational Sampling................ 2 6 vii ABSTRACT A fifty square mile portion of Prince George County was selected for floristic investigation. The study area borders the James River and was defined as the watersheds of Tar Bay and Powell Creek. This area has not been the focus of intensive floristic investigation. Included in the study area are important historical locations, such as Merchant's Hope Church and Coggins Point. Also within the area is the recently established James River Wildlife Refuge. Fifty-five field trips were made to the study area from May to October of 1993 and March to July 1994. Vegetational data were taken in representative forests using the Bitterlich method of sampling. Some of the habitats examined included pine forests, mixed pine forests, upland hardwood forests and ravine slopes, river bluffs, and swamps. In addition, floristic investigations also included marshes, cemeteries, stream banks, and roadsides. Seven hundred and eighty-six species representing 405 genera of 115 families were documented during the course of this study? one hundred sixty-seven of these are reported from Prince George County for the first time. Seven species ranging from very rare to uncommon, as determined by the Virginia Department of Natural Heritage, were documented, five of which are newly reported for Prince George County. viii The Vascular Flora of the Tar Bay and Powell Creek Watersheds, Prince George County, Virginia INTRODUCTION The adjacent watersheds of Tar Bay and Powell Creek in Prince George County were chosen for floristic investigation. This area has not been the focus of a floristics study since Fernald's work in Southeastern Virginia in the 1930's and 1940's, and has never received intensive study. A preliminary review of the Atlas of the Virginia Flora {Harvill et al 1992) indicated a significant potential for distributional records for Prince George County. In addition, high species diversity was expected due to the diversity of habitat types, including both acidic soil habitats and more basic soils where streams have cut down through beds of fossil shells. Another factor that led to the selection of this study area was the higher proportion of forests that had not been recently timbered relative to areas field-checked in nearby counties. However, since the inception of this study, many maturing hardwood forests have been clear-cut, a practice that removes all the trees from a given area, and brings about the demise of much of the flora. The high incidence of clear- cutting in the study area underscores the need for this study. The goal of this study was to identify the vascular flora and characterize the habitat types of the study area. Voucher specimens produced during this study, and others like it, are 2 3 extremely useful in taxonomic and systematic investigations, and are borrowed for study by botanists from across the country. Several vouchers from this study have already been borrowed for study by those doing treatments for the Flora of North America. Additionally, distributional records will be included in the next edition of the Atlas of the Virginia Flora. Study Area Prince George County is located south of the James River on the Middle Coastal Plain of Virginia {Massey 1961) . It is bounded to the west by Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties, to the south-east by Sussex and Surry counties, and to the north by the James River (Figure 1). The study area includes the Tar Bay and Powell Creek watersheds, both of which are entirely within Prince George County, and is approximately 50 square miles in area. Tar Bay is located along the James River and lies between two small peninsulas, Indian Point to the west and Coggins Point to the east. Chappell Creek, one of two major stream systems in the study area, flows northeast into Tar Bay (Figure 2) . The second major stream system, Powell Creek, flows north into the James River immediately east of Coggins Point. Two smaller creeks that form a swamp on Indian Point, Billy Creek and Bickers/Jenny Creek, were also included. 4 m i l i t a r y v • flf S£r v a t io h :rrv of IHEWM Figure 1: Maps of the State of Virginia (adapted from Harvill et 3.1. 1992) and Prince George County with study area in bold (adapted from V a . Dept, of Transportation 1977) . 5 Figure 2: Map of the Study Area [adapted from U. S. Geological Survey Richmond Quadrangle (1:100,000 scale)]. y L a n d in g Strip Westove Hoj »* iriK.ut Q O o cO A JAMES \ I Blairs iver woo arysville 4 Xumrhings Nfwv ' 7 Where possible, highways that follow watershed divides were used to mark the boundaries of the study area. These boundaries are: from State Route (SR) 156.at Jordans Point south to the inception of SR 644, then south to SR 609, southeast to SR 636, southeast to benchmark 130 (ca. 1.5 miles south of Mount Hope Church), southeast along the divide between the watershed of Powell Creek and that of the north fork of the Blackwater River (at about the 130 foot contour level) to SR 635 (ca. 1 mile southwest of the National Moorish Home), south-southeast along the upland between Cattail Creek and the Powell Creek to SR 625 (ca. 1 mile south of Lebanon Church), north to SR 10, northwest to SR 639, northeast to SR 640, north-northwest to Maycocks Point. Included in the study area is Nobels Swamp, which borders SR 639, and its tributaries.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Chesapecten, a New Genus of Pectinidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Miocene and Pliocene of Eastern North America
    Chesapecten, a New Genus of Pectinidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) From the Miocene and Pliocene of Eastern North America GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 861 Chesapecten) a New Genus of Pectinidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) From the Miocene and Pliocene of Eastern North America By LAUCK W. WARD and BLAKE W. BLACKWELDER GEOLOGIC.AL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 861 A study of a stratigraphically important group of Pectinidae with recognition of the earliest described and figured Anzerican fossil UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON 1975 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ward, Lauck W Chesapecten, a new genus of Pectinidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from the Miocene and Pliocene of eastern North America. (Geological Survey professional paper ; 861) Includes bibliography and index. Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.16:861 1. Chesapecten. 2. Paleontology-Tertiary. 3. Paleontology-North America. I. Blackwelder, Blake W., joint author. II. Title III. Series: United States. Geological Survey. Professional paper : 861. QE812.P4W37 564'.11 74-26694 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402- Price $1.45 (paper cover) Stock Number 2401-02574 CONTENTS Page Abstract --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction -------------------------------------------------.----------------------------- 1 Acknowledgments ______________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Name-Bearing Fossil Type Specimens and Taxa Named from National Park Service Areas
    Sullivan, R.M. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2016, Fossil Record 5. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 73. 277 NAME-BEARING FOSSIL TYPE SPECIMENS AND TAXA NAMED FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREAS JUSTIN S. TWEET1, VINCENT L. SANTUCCI2 and H. GREGORY MCDONALD3 1Tweet Paleo-Consulting, 9149 79th Street S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016, -email: [email protected]; 2National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, 1201 Eye Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, -email: [email protected]; 3Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101: -email: [email protected] Abstract—More than 4850 species, subspecies, and varieties of fossil organisms have been named from specimens found within or potentially within National Park System area boundaries as of the date of this publication. These plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, ichnotaxa, and microfossils represent a diverse collection of organisms in terms of taxonomy, geologic time, and geographic distribution. In terms of the history of American paleontology, the type specimens found within NPS-managed lands, both historically and contemporary, reflect the birth and growth of the science of paleontology in the United States, with many eminent paleontologists among the contributors. Name-bearing type specimens, whether recovered before or after the establishment of a given park, are a notable component of paleontological resources and their documentation is a critical part of the NPS strategy for their management. In this article, name-bearing type specimens of fossil taxa are documented in association with at least 71 NPS administered areas and one former monument, now abolished.
    [Show full text]
  • Minerals and Fossils and to Find Some of the Treasures in the Museum!
    Rockin’ Scavenger Hunt Virginia Tech Museum of Geosciences This scavenger hunt is designed for you to discover some things about minerals and fossils and to find some of the treasures in the Museum! Your mission: Working with your team, find the answers to as many of the following questions as possible, without copying answers from any other teams. You may begin at the top of any page. Your teacher will advise you on which page to start, and you should complete a page before moving on to another page. Tip: Follow the directions given to each location. "Right," "left," "front" and "back" refer to those locations from the door of the museum where you came in. (Answers are in blue. S numbers are case numbers.) Minerals____________________ I. Take a look at some of our “show” minerals at these locations: -- Don Dalton collection at center right wall -- MVT Deposit Minerals at front left corner wall -- case at museum center with “Emerald” label at front 1. Choose two favorites. Write down the name of each mineral, and describe what it looks like (for example: shiny, dull, blocky, rounded, flat, bumpy, how many sides, what color, etc.) See if you can describe each sample well enough that a classmate could find the exact thing you are looking at! a. example - emerald – green with parallel lines, huge crystal b. _______________________ 2. Look at the Minerals of Virginia displays at the right wall toward the back. a. Name a mineral mined in Virginia and the location or quarry where it was found. example - tourmaline, Powhatan County b.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphic Revision of Upper Miocene and Lower Pliocene Beds of the Chesapeake Group, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain
    Stratigraphic Revision of Upper Miocene and Lower Pliocene Beds of the Chesapeake Group, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1482-D Stratigraphic Revision of Upper Miocene and Lower Pliocene Beds of the Chesapeake Group, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain By LAUCK W. WARD and BLAKE W. BLACKWELDER CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1482-D UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 198.0 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY H. William Menard Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ward, Lauck W Stratigraphic revision of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene beds of the Chesapeake group-middle Atlantic Coastal Plain. (Contributions to stratigraphy) (Geological Survey bulletin ; 1482-D) Bibliography: p. Supt. of Docs. no. : I 19.3:1482-D 1. Geology, Stratigraphic-Miocene. 2. Geology, Stratigraphic-Pliocene. 3. Geology- Middle Atlantic States. I. Blackwelder, Blake W., joint author. II. Title. III. Series. IV. Series: United States. Geological Survey. Bulletin ; 1482-D. QE694.W37 551.7'87'0975 80-607052 For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Abstract __ Dl Introduction 1 Acknowledgments ____________________________ 4 Discussion ____________________________________ 4 Chronology of depositional events ______________________ 7 Miocene Series _________________________________ g Eastover Formation ___________________________ 8 Definition and description ___________________
    [Show full text]
  • From Microfossils to Megafauna: an Overview of the Taxonomic Diversity of National Park Service Fossils
    Lucas, S. G., Hunt, A. P. & Lichtig, A. J., 2021, Fossil Record 7. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 82. 437 FROM MICROFOSSILS TO MEGAFAUNA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FOSSILS JUSTIN S. TWEET1 and VINCENT L. SANTUCCI2 1National Park Service, 9149 79th Street S., Cottage Grove, MN, 55016, [email protected]; 2National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, 1849 “C” Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240, [email protected] Abstract—The vast taxonomic breadth of the National Park Service (NPS)’s fossil record has never been systematically examined until now. Paleontological resources have been documented within 277 NPS units and affiliated areas as of the date of submission of this publication (Summer 2020). The paleontological records of these units include fossils from dozens of high-level taxonomic divisions of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, as well as many types of ichnofossils and microfossils. Using data and archives developed for the NPS Paleontology Synthesis Project (PSP) that began in 2012, it is possible to examine and depict the broad taxonomic diversity of these paleontological resources. The breadth of the NPS fossil record ranges from Proterozoic microfossils and stromatolites to Quaternary plants, mollusks, and mammals. The most diverse taxonomic records have been found in parks in the western United States and Alaska, which are generally recognized for their long geologic records. Conifers, angiosperms, corals, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, artiodactyls, invertebrate burrows, and foraminiferans are among the most frequently reported fossil groups. Small to microscopic fossils such as pollen, spores, the bones of small vertebrates, and the tests of marine plankton are underrepresented because of their size and the specialized equipment and techniques needed to study them.
    [Show full text]
  • Exceptional Preservation of Basal Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) Molluscan Faunas, James River, Virginia
    64 EXCEPTIONAL PRESERVATION OF BASAL YORKTOWN FORMATION (PLIOCENE) MOLLUSCAN FAUNAS, JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA CAMPBELL, Matthew R., Department of Geology, CB 3315, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315, U.S.A. The Yorktown Formation of Early and Middle Pliocene age (4.4 to 3.2 Ma) crops out throughout the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Virginia and North Carolina. The diverse and well-preserved faunas of the Zone 2 beds of Mansfield are laterally extensive, lithologically complex, and better studied than the Sunken Meadow Member of Ward or Zone 1 of Mansfield. Zone 1 is exposed at Kingsmill and Carter's Grove, James City County, Virginia, on the north bank of the James River. Zone 2 beds, with a basal pavement of disarticulated large bivalves, disconformably overlie truncated Zone 1 beds. Placopecten clintonius and Chesapecten jeffersonius are common Zone 1 index species. Zone 1 beds include a lower fine sand and an upper very shelly sand. There is a gradual transition to upper beds, wllich contain similar fine quartzose sand, but more whole and fragmented shell. In the upper Zone 1 beds, abundant single valves of C. jeffersonius lie current-oriented and convex-up, paving sand waves. The estimated number of encrusting species and endolithic species increases upwards through the section. The documented Zone 1 molluscan fauna was increased by 103 species to a total of 208 species, including about 20 undescribed species. Lithologic and paleontologic changes in the Zone 1 section refle~t a regressive, shallowing upwards sequence during a relative sea level fall in the Early Pliocene around 4.2 mybp.
    [Show full text]
  • Shells and Fossils Collected by the Earliest Settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, USA
    THE NAUTILUS 129(2):77–82, 2015 Page 77 Shells and fossils collected by the earliest settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, USA Juliana M. Harding1 Beverly A. Straube2 Brittany L. Grimm Department of Marine Science Jamestown Rediscovery Geerat J. Vermeij Coastal Carolina University 1365 Colonial Parkway Howard J. Spero P.O. Box 261954 Jamestown, VA 23081 USA Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Conway, SC 29528 USA University of California Davis [email protected] Davis, CA 95616 USA ABSTRACT evidence that early endeavors to extract profitable resources included much more than the search for gold. The discovery of an intact valve of the fossil bivalve Chesapecten Some of the undertakings included specialists from jeffersonius and shells of three tropical snail species in a c. 1610 Germany producing glass; English metallurgists making James Fort well speaks to the curiosity that European colonists brought to the New World. While implementing the Virginia trials of Virginia minerals that might alloy with English Company of London’s mandate to identify and secure profitable copper to make brass; and a tobacco pipemaker pro- natural resources, the Jamestown, Virginia, colonists apparently ducing tobacco pipes from the local clay (Straube, 2004; also gathered interesting natural objects. The shells may have Hudgins, 2005). The 17th-century Englishmen were also been collected either as personal souvenirs, much like modern- interested in New World flora and fauna that could be day tourists, or as curios destined for the lucrative European used for medicinal applications. Captain Gabriel Archer, conchology market. Chesapecten jeffersonius, Virginia’s state writing in 1607 of Virginia’s natural bounty, mentioned fossil, was collected locally as representatives can still be found “Apothecary drugges of diverse sortes, some knowne to in James River Pliocene deposits near Jamestown.
    [Show full text]
  • Mirecki Phd.Pdf
    .. AMINOSTRATIGRAPHY, GEOCHRONOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF FOSSILS FROM LATE CENOZOIC MARINE UNITS IN SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA By June Elizabeth Mirecki A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology June 1990 N AMINOSTRATIGRAPHY, GEOCHRONOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF FOSSILS FROM LATE CENOZOIC MARINE UNITS IN SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA By June Elizabeth Mirecki Approved: _ Billy P. Glass, Ph.D. Chairman of the Department of Geology Approved:, -:-- _ Carol E. Hoffecker, Ph.D. Acting Associate Provost for Graduate Studies b AMINOSTRATIGRAPHY, GEOCHRONOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF FOSSILS FROM LATE CENOZOIC MARINE UNITS IN SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA '. By June Elizabeth Mirecki I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: _ John F. Wehmiller, Ph.D. Professor in charge of dissertation I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: _ Billy P. Glass, Ph.D. Chairman of the Department of Geology and member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: - _ Dr. Peter B. Leavens, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional stpndard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleocommunities of the Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) of Virginia
    i TITLE Paleocommunities of the Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) of Virginia Gwen M. Daley Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences Richard K. Bambach (Chair) J Bret Bennington Lauck W. Ward Arnold I. Miller Michal Kowalewski August 6th, 1999 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Paleocommunity, Molluscan Paleoecology, Yorktown Formation Copyright 1999, Gwen M. Daley ii Paleocommunities of the Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) of Virginia by Gwen M. Daley R.K. Bambach, Chairman Department of Geological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (ABSTRACT) The fossiliferous Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) of Virginia was used as a natural laboratory for testing predictions of ecological and evolutionary theories. Specifically, coordinated stasis and ecological locking models have testable elements that can be analyzed using data from the Yorktown Formation. The ecological locking model requires that species within an ecosystem have strong interactions in order to stabilize morphologies of multiple lineages over millions of years. Species intereactions that are strong enough to do this should also be strong enough to be a major ordering force on the composition of paleocommunities. Single and replicate samples were taken from 30 cm stratigraphic intervals within the Rushmere and Morgart's Beach Members at several localities. A total of 142 samples were collected from 5 localites, which yielded 29,000 specimens belonging to 140 species of bivalves, gastropods, and other taxonomic groups. Principle components analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA, and other analyses were used to test the occurence and recurrence of local paleocommunities, paleocommunities, and paleocommunity types.
    [Show full text]
  • Hopkins and Lidgard, Appendix B, P. 1
    Hopkins and Lidgard Fossil species lineages and their defining traits—taxonomic “usefulness” and evolutionary modes Appendix B. Justification for coding assignments, arranged in alphabetical order. *AICc results from Hunt 2007 #taxonomic importance coded by SL; all others by MJH. Acuticryphops acuticeps from France Data from Cronier et al 2004 Cronier and Feist (2000) note that the number of eye lenses is quite variable within samples that otherwise show no variation within traits. Other closely related species (the genus Acuticryphops is monospecific) are characterized by similarly low numbers of eye lenses (though species of Weyerites are distinguished by number of eye lenses among other traits). Because the authors lump specimens despite the high variation in this characters, this character is considered “not useful” for classification within Acuticryphops. #Afrobolivina afra from west Africa Data from Campbell and Reyment 1978 Campbell and Reyment (1978) state on p. 348 that metric variables were "selected for analysis as it was thought they might be useful for exposing possible differences due to polymorphism in the foraminiferal life cycle." They do not present criteria for distinguishing A. afra from related species. Reyment (1959) erected both the genus and the species. In the latter paper, the generic diagnosis includes among the "peculiarities": "roughly cylindrical with the greatest breadth in or around the middle, or sides slightly convex with the greatest breadth near the top of the test." (p. 19). The species diagnosis (p. 21) includes these characteristics: "Test roughly cylindrical, site of greatest inflation in the middle or in the last third of the length of megalosphcric individuals and usually across the last two chambers of microspheric individuals." The species description (p 23) notes, " The following details were measured: Number of chambers (C), length of the test (L), breadth of the test (B), the maximum thickness of the test (T), distance of maximum breadth from top of last chamber (E), the diameter of the proloculus (P).
    [Show full text]
  • Prehistoric Life in the National Parks Coloring Book
    National Park Service PREHISTORIC LIFE IN U.S. Department of the Interior THE NATIONAL PARKS COLORING BOOK PREHISTORIC LIFE IN THE NATIONAL PARKS COLORING BOOK National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, Paleontology Program https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm DEDICATION This Prehistoric Life in the National Parks Coloring Book is dedicated to Georgia Hybels, a National Park Service geographer who shared her time to foster children’s interests in fossils, caves and national parks. PRECAMBRIAN “before the Cambrian” The Precambrian Eon is part of Earth’s history. It spans from approximately 4.6 billion years ago to 541 million years ago. This section includes a Precambrian life form found in some of our national parks in the United States. Collenia symmetrica is an early fossil. It shows layers of sand trapped by tiny organisms (mostly cyanobacteria) into mounds that we call stromatolites. Stromatolites are some of the earliest and most widespread forms of early prehistoric life. Fossils of Collenia have been found at Glacier National Park, Montana. PALEOZOIC ERA “ancient animal life” The Paleozoic Era is part of Earth’s history that spans approximately 541 million years ago to 252 million years ago. This era began with an explosion of new life. New and different ocean animals lived during the Cambrian. Over time, plants and animals evolved to live in the oceans and on land. The Paleozoic ends after a large die off (extinction) of many early lifeforms at the end of the Permian. This section includes some Paleozoic life which have been found in some of our national parks in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Fossils, Geologic Time, Absolute & Relative Dating, and Natural
    Fossils, Geologic Time, Absolute & Relative Dating, and Natural Resources Chapters 5 & 6 How Do Fossils Form? Fossils are found in sedimentary rocks like sandstone, limestone, and shale In Virginia, most fossils are marine in origin. Our state fossil, Chesapecten jeffersonius, is a large extinct species of scallop that dates to approximately 4.5 million years ago. It was the first fossil ever described in North America and is named after Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, and an amateur paleontologist. Special conditions need to exist for a fossil to form: 1. Must be protected from scavengers 2. Must be protected from bacteria or micro- organisms that can speed up the decay process 3. Must have hard parts like teeth or bones 4. Be near water so they can be buried fast Can You Name That Fossil? 1 4 Cast Petrified 2 5 Carbonaceous Mold 3 6 Trace Amber and/or Mold Geologic Time Scale All events in Earth’s geologic history are recorded on the geologic time scale Divisions of geologic time are eons, eras, periods, and epochs Fossils from each major era (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic) are found in the rocks of Virginia. The end of each era is typically marked by a major extinction event. We are currently in the Cenozoic Era, the Quaternary Period, and the Recent Epoch. By using relative and absolute dating methods, we have been able to roughly estimate the age of the Earth to be about 4.6 billion years. Virginia Fossils Paleozoic fossils: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateau provinces and preserve abundant marine fossils, indicating the presence of extensive, shallow seas.
    [Show full text]