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    A Statistical Examination of the Change in Body Size of Mammalian Communities Across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary

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    Schmerge_ku_0099M_11548_DATA_1.pdf (1.466Mb)
    Issue Date
    2011-04-19
    Author
    Schmerge, Joshua David
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    93 pages
    Type
    Thesis
    Degree Level
    M.S.
    Discipline
    Geology
    Rights
    This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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    Abstract
    The body mass change of mammals across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary (EOB) and the potential relationship with global climate change was studied. Global climate went through a period of dramatic cooling and drying during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition. The effects on the environments of North America were dramatic, causing a shift from abundant, dense rainforest canopy in the Eocene to open savannah environment in the Oligocene. Mammal faunas from the White River Group of the continental interior of North America were investigated. Statistical surveys of large mammal faunas (> 1 kg) from the Douglas, Wyoming, and surrounding area and small mammal fauna ( 1 kg) from the Douglas, Wyoming, and surrounding area and small mammal fauna (Oligoryctes up to titanotheres massing 1,589 kg. Large mammals were found to decrease in body mass across the EOB, whereas body mass of small mammals increased. This phenomenon of extreme body masses approaching the middle of the range of body masses is likened to the Island Effect, where large mammals decrease in body size and small mammals increase in body size to accommodate a decrease in available habitat and resources. The change in body mass was attributed to environmental degradation brought on by climate change. Lower body mass evolved in large, herbivorous mammals as they adapted to diminished food resources. Small mammals likewise responded to climate change by adapting to the prevalence of open environments, and granivorous diets evolved as tropical vegetation waned.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7824
    Collections
    • Theses [3711]
    • Geology Dissertations and Theses [147]

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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