Home -> Research Focus Areas -> Ancient Life Systems

---

Ancient Life Systems

The Ancient Life Systems group studies the evolutionary history of organisms in the context of biological and physical responses to large-scale deep-time changes in ancient global geography, climate, and macroecology, and how these responses are recorded in the geologic record and relate to past and present-day patterns of biodiversity.

Faculty

Robert L. Anstey — Invertebrate paleontology
Danita S. Brandt — Invertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy
Michael D. Gottfried — Vertebrate paleontology
Ralph E. Taggart — Palynology and Paleobotany

Adjunct Faculty

Catherine Yansa — Palynology

Emeritus Faculty

Aureal T. Cross — Palynology and Paleobotany

---

Selected Research Topics

Invertebrate Paleontology

The Paleobiology Group studies paleobiology, paleoecology and paleoclimatology. Dr. Robert Anstey studies the paleobiology of bryozoans, including their systematics, phylogeny, functional morphology, heterochrony, evolutionary trends, mass extinctions, radiations, biogeography, biostratigraphy, and paleoecology. Dr. Danita Brandt studies the paleoecology and paleobiology of trilobites, taphonomy of marine invertebrate faunas, and the record of event (storm) deposition through the Phanerozoic.

Vertebrate Paleontology

The vertebrate paleontology group conducts research on the paleobiogeographic history of Cretaceous Gondwanan faunas, with special emphasis on Late Cretaceous fishes and sharks from Madagascar and Africa. (Dr. Michael Gottfried).  Other current research areas involve looking at the evolutionary history of lamnoid sharks, including the giant fossil relatives of Great White Sharks, and the Paleozoic record of fossil fishes from Michigan. Collaborative work with faculty in other departments focuses on studying trophic structure and other paleoecological aspects of fossil animals using stable isotope analysis. Emeritus Professor Dr. Alan Holman continues his research on Cenozoic herpetofaunas from North America and Europe and Late Pleistocene megafauna from Michigan.

Paleobotany and Palynology

Integrated analysis of macrofossil and palynological data is used for the reconstruction of terrestrial plant communities (Dr. Ralph Taggart, Dr. Catherine Yansa, and Emeritus professor Dr. Aureal Cross). Current projects focus on the Cenozoic of the northern Intermountain region. The application of refined ecological data to the reconstruction of patterns of evolution in plant lineages, the utility of plant taxa in biostratigraphy, the nature of associated faunas, and the reconstruction of regional paleoclimatic trends are subjects of current interest.