9th North American Paleontological Convention Abstracts University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio USA June 21-26, 2009 ISBN 978-1882151127 Copyright ©2009 Cincinnati Museum Center. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, The Paleontological Society, The National Science Foundation, The Ohio Geological Survey, The Indiana Geological Society, The Kentucky Geological Survey, BP America, and Cincinnati Museum Center Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45203 (513) 287-7000 (800) 733-2077 www.cincymuseum.org Cincinnati Museum Center Scientific Contributions Series Editor – Glenn W. Storrs Graphic Designer – Sherry Stoffer Printed in the United States of America by McNaughton & Gunn, Inc. Dedication NAPC 2009 is dedicated to the memory of Ellis L. Yochelson (1928-2006), principal organizer of the first NAPC (1969) and a major catalyst in its establishment as a highly successful quadrennial meeting. Welcome On behalf of the Associated North American Paleontological Societies, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Cincinnati for the 9th North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC 2009). As the abstracts in this volume attest, this is a wonderfully eclectic meeting, with sessions and presentations covering an array of taxa, and touching on important questions and themes that drive the science of paleontology in the 21st century. In the year when we commemorate the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the sesquicentennial of The Origin of Species, it is appropriate that NAPC 2009 take place in Cincinnati. There are few places on the continent that can match the rich paleontological heritage of this region. Most paleontologists are aware that the classic strata and fossils of the Cincinnatian have long served as an essential natural laboratory and proving ground for paleoecological, macroevolutionary, and stratigraphic investigations. Fewer may know, however, that the region is also considered the birthplace of American paleontology, with active collecting of mastodons and other Pleistocene fossils at nearby Big Bone Lick, Kentucky as far back as the early 18th century. As we celebrate Cincinnati’s paleontological riches, it is important to also recognize that the region has endured repeated efforts to undermine the teaching of evolution. While the focus of NAPC 2009 is rightly on the scientific themes that propel paleontology, we thought it appropriate and timely to encourage professional paleontologists to consider their roles in broader societal debates, and we have organized a series of sessions and discussions on these themes as part of the meeting agenda, primarily on Thursday, June 25. I am especially indebted to the other members of the organizing committee and to colleagues who organized symposia and field trips for their efforts in putting together such a lively meeting. Special thanks go also to Jamie Miller, our meeting liaison in the University of Cincinnati Conferencing office, who has worked tirelessly over the past two years on a complex set of logistical challenges, ensuring that all participants have a productive and enjoyable stay in Cincinnati. Have fun! Arnold I. Miller, Chair University of Cincinnati June, 2009 Organizing Committee Arnold Miller (University of Cincinnati), Chair William Ausich (The Ohio State University) Loren Babcock (The Ohio State University) Catherine Badgley (University of Michigan) Katherine Bulinski (Bellarmine University) Carlton Brett (University of Cincinnati) Brenda Hunda (Cincinnati Museum Center) Claudia Johnson (Indiana University) Jack Kallmeyer (The Dry Dredgers) Erle Kauffman (Indiana University) David Meyer (University of Cincinnati) Lisa Park (University of Akron) Alycia Stigall (Ohio University) Glenn Storrs (Cincinnati Museum Center) Andrew Webber (Cincinnati Museum Center) Margaret Yacobucci (Bowling Green State University) Sponsors University of Cincinnati, The Paleontological Society, The National Science Foundation, The Ohio Geological Survey, The Indiana Geological Society, The Kentucky Geological Survey, BP America, and Cincinnati Museum Center Map of Tangeman University Center University of Cincinnati Key To Session Numbers 9th North American Paleontological Convention Abstracts University of Cincinnati, June 21-26, 2009 Arrangement of abstracts Abstracts are sequential within each session; sessions are numbered to reflect their order of occurrence during the meeting. Each abstract is preceded by the session number, followed by the time of presentation for oral presentations or booth number for poster presentations (i.e., session number: time of presentation/booth number). An author index keyed to these codes provides the locations of abstracts in this volume . Key to session numbers 1: Plenary Session P1: What Darwin Didn't Know: Evolution in the 21st Century 2: Topical Session T1: Biotic Response to Paleoenvironmental and Paleoclimatological Transitions 3: Topical Session T2: Biotic Interactions/ Educational Initiatives 4: Symposium S1: Molecular Paleobiology 5: Symposium S2: Size Matters: Pursuing General Laws in Body-Size Evolution and Ecology 6: Symposium S3: Rapid Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems and Their Influence on Marine Realms – Land-Sea Interactions in the Devonian 7: Symposium S4: Paleobiology and Paleontology of Mammals During the Uintan North American Land Mammal Age 8: Poster session PS1: Morphology, Systematics, Diversity, and Extinction 9: Topical Session T3: Morphology, Function, Growth, and Unusual Preservation 10: Symposium S5: Fossilized Development 11: Symposium S6: Through the End of the Cretaceous in the Type Locality of the Hell Creek Formation and Adjacent Areas 12: Symposium S7: Taphonomic Fidelity and Infidelity in Modern and Ancient Communities 9 th North American Paleontological Convention Abstracts 13: Symposium S8: IGCP 503: Ordovician-Silurian Oceanic/Climatic Events and Biotic Response 14: Topical Session T4: Phanerozoic Diversity Dynamics and Biostratigraphy 15: Topical Session T5: Paleobiogeography and Systematics 16: Symposium S9: Experimental Taphonomy 17: Poster Session PS2: Biostratigraphy, Education, Palebiogeography and Paleoclimatology 18: Plenary Session P2: Evolution and Society 19: Topical Session T6: Dynamics of Extinction and Radiation in the Phanerozoic 20: Symposium S10: The Nature of Science and Public-Science Literacy 21: Symposium S11: Paleontology in K-12 Education 22: Symposium S12: Global Change and Biotic Response: Perspectives From the Quaternary, Windows to the Future 23: Symposium S13: Whole-Organism Paleoecology in Deep Time: Influences on Evolution and Applications to Modern Ecology 24: Symposium S14: Crisis in Reefs: Is the Past the Key to the Present? 25: Poster Session PS3: Taphonomy and Paleoecology 26: Topical Session T7: Paleocommunities and Regional Dynamics 27: Symposium S15: Biotic Response to Environmental Change: Ecology, Evolution and the Future – A Symposium in Honor of Jeremy B.C. Jackson 28: Sympoisum S16: IGCP 572: Recovery of Ecosystems After the Permo- Triassic Extinction 29: Symposium S17: Progress and Perspectives on Paleontology in China 30: Symposium S18: Paleozoic Brachiopods: Morphology, Evolution, and Stratigraphy 31: Topical Session T8: Life in the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian 32: Topical Session T9: Organism-Environment Interactions 33: Symposium S19: Biological Response to Devonian Sea-Level and Paleoclimate Changes Monday – Abstracts What Darwin Didn't Know: Evolution in the 21st Century Monday Session No. 1, 8:30 AM; Monday, 22 June 2008 Plenary Session P1. What Darwin Didn't Know: Evolution in the 21st Century 1: 9:00 AM-9:30 AM Presenter: Donoghue, Michael J. Charles Darwin, The Tree of Life, and The Future of Biodiversity Donoghue, Michael, J., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 21 Sachem Street, P.O. Box 208105, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States, [email protected] Darwin supposed that one day we would comprehend the entire tree of life, and that this would be highly enlightening. But, only in the last few decades have we had the power to seriously tackle this enormous problem, and we are still struggling to incorporate phylogenetic thinking and methods into biology. Using examples from plants, I will highlight some emerging generalities about past episodes of diversification and movement, and reflect on the use of these findings in making predictions about the future of biodiversity in the face of global change. 1: 9:30 AM-10:00 AM Presenter: Losos, Jonathan Synthesizing Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Losos, Jonathan, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States, [email protected] Charles Darwin was possibly the first evolutionary ecologist. His ecological insights on the factors regulating interactions among species and the structure of communities are strikingly prescient, and his role in the development of evolutionary science needs no mention. For much of the last century, however, the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology were separate and evolutionary ecology has traditionally been studied in two ways. Ecologists study the processes going on in extant communities to investigate the ways in which ecological 1 Monday – Abstracts processes drive evolutionary change. Conversely, paleontologists and evolutionary biologists study the way in which historical events have shaped current ecological