Current Research

Here are brief summaries of some of the research currently being undertaken by our research group.

Arctic trace fossils: This ongoing research gives startling insight into the paleoecology of high latitude environments during the Cretaceous. Fossil trackways produced by large herds of hadrosaurs indicate that herds composed of individuals ranging from very young to adult remained in high latitudes year round. Trace fossils produced by beetles and other arthropods confirm that temperatures were warm throughout the year, so there would be vegetation to support large herbivores even in the winter. This project is part of a joint research effort in conjunction with the Museum of Nature and Science and the Hokkaido University Museum. Research is on going.
Researchers: Hasiotis, Fiorillo, Kobayashi

Biogenic structures of continental organisms: The aim of this study is to compare the burrows made by modern continental organisms to fossil burrows found in rocks interpreted as continental environments. Neoichnological experiments with sand-swimming snakes and amphisbaenians were conducted to attribute unidentified trace fossils with known organisms and to infer paleoecologic settings from the architectural and surficial morphology of their burrows. Other burrows studied from the Permian and the Eocene-Oligocene were found to be primarily media-controlled, indicating that only strong climate change can affect soil organisms. These studies have been linked to other taxonomic, phylogenetic, and paleobiogeographic studies to better define the fossil history of the amphisbaenians. Research in such organisms is on going.
Researchers: Hembree and Hasiotis

Enigmatic sedimentary structures in the Navajo Sandstone: Cylindtrical structures found in the Navajo Sandstone were investigated. Architectural morphology (sinuosity, Y- and T-branching, spiral ramps, chambers, and bilobate tunnels) and surficial morphology (scratch marks) indicate that these structures are burrows produced by mammals or therapsids. The networks made by the branches also indicate that these structures were made by social groups of organisms. This research indicates that mammals much larger than prairie dogs were capable of living as social organisms within the soil. Research is on going.
Researchers: Riese, Hasiotis, Odier (deceased)

Ichnologic and paleoenvironmental analysis of the Morrison Formation: Our group currently is conducting several research projects on the Morrison Formation. The first is an ongoing research project cataloging the diversity of trace fossils preserved in the Morrison Formation. The preliminary efforts of this research are presented in Hasiotis’s 2004 paper, Reconnaissance of Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation ichnofossils, which you can find here. The second is on the taphonomy and paleoenvironment of the Morrison Formation in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. The field area in this study is highly fossiliferous, containing numerous Camarasaur bones and Allosaur teeth in a weakly developed paleosol. It was determined from this evidence that this deposit is the remains of a scavenging event by several juvenile and few adult Allosaurs. Further sedimentologic analysis demonstrates that the area was a poorly drained environment with high input from volcanic systems. It was determined that the strongest paleoenvironmental control on this system was volcanic activity rather than climate change. The last project is an integrated study of the Morrison Formation using ichnology, paleopedology, and geochemistry. A chemostratigraphic profile showing the variation of organic carbon with paleoclimate will be developed for the Upper Morrison Formation near Ticaboo, Utah. Research is on going.
Researchers: Hasiotis, Jennings, and Platt

Ichnology of the Catskill Formation: The trace fossil assemblage of the Upper Devonian Catskill Formation of north-central PA was investigated. The trace fossil associations of the different paleoenvironments (point bar, proximal and distal floodplains) recorded there will be assessed. The main objective of this research is to determine the role of soil biota in soil formation in the early evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. This linkage between tracemaking biota and soil formation is important because soil biota today is the driving force in the nutrient cycling system, and that they have been demonstrated to be ecosystem engineers that modulate the flow and recycling of nutrients. Research is on going.
Researchers: Jones and Hasiotis

Ichnology of Mazon Creek: Trace fossils from the Mazon Creek area of Illinois were studied. Specimens from the KU museum and the Field Museum in Chicago were cataloged and photographed. For many of the specimens, their ichnotaxonomy was reassessed. When the catalog is completed, ichnofacies will be erected to describe the trace fossil distribution. The paleoenvironment of the Mazon Creek deposit will be inferred from the ichnofacies. Research is on going.
Researchers: Lobue and Hasiotis

Ichnology of the Willwood Formation: This comprehensive study of the trace fossils found in the Willwood Formation in the Bighorn Basin of Northern Wyoming, was used to reconstruct the paleoecology and paleoclimate of the region during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The PETM was a rapid, high magnitude warming event that persisted for only tens of thousands of years, but it had a tremendous effect on the environment in the Bighorn Basin. The trace fossil assemblages found during PETM demonstrate that transient warming created dry conditions and well-drained soils, whereas the soils after the PETM were poorly drained as a result of wetter climatic conditions. Trace fossils overall were larger during the PETM, suggesting that climate has a strong effect on the body size of burrowing arthropods. This research also resulted in the erection of a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, Naktodemasis bowni, which is a type of adhesive meniscate burrow found in well-drained soils. Research is on going as numerous trace fossils have yet to be taxonomically assigned and more materials and new relationships between trace fossils and paleosols are being found.
Researchers: Hasiotis, Smith, Kraus

Megafaunal ichnology: Elephants were studied as modern tracemaking analogs for sauropod dinosaurs. The goal of this research is to determine the effect of soil moisture on the preservation of megafaunal footprints, in order to interpret moisture levels of ancient soils from fossil megafunal tracks. A direct correlation between track volume and soil moisture was determined from the studies with elephants, which serves as an independent estimator of ancient moisture levels. Research is on going, and new opportunities are possible with other megaherbivores.
Researchers: Platt and Hasiotis

Mesozoic avian ichnology: Bird behaviors were interpreted from a Mesozoic track site. Takeoff behavior was interpreted from trackways consisting of paired tracks prior to trackway termination. Foraging behaviors were also interpreted based on similarity to modern shorebird trackways. The presence of these behaviors confirms fossil evidence that some groups of early birds occupied similar niches to those of modern birds. Research is on going.
Researchers: Falk, Hasiotis, Martin

Neoichnology of cicada nymphs and beetle grubs: Cicada nymphs and beetle grubs were placed into experimental enclosures and observed in order to explain the morphology of their traces. It was observed that these nymphs and grubs were able to make adhesive meniscate burrows in well-drained media without ingesting sediment. Grubs and nymphs moved through the sediment by excavating an empty cell around their bodies, then moved the cell through the enclosure by scraping sediment from the front of the cell, grasping sediment in their limbs while somersaulting, then packing the sediment behind them on the back end of the cell. Burrows produced in enclosures of layered, colored sand appeared as long bands of crescent-shaped material of alternating color. This research falsifies the previous hypothesis that sediment-ingesting organisms produce this style of burrow and are restricted to marine settings and aquatic or saturated continental environments. Research is on going as there is a vast opportunity to study a wide variety of insects, arthropods, and other invertebrates that spend some portion of their lives in soil.
Researchers: Hasiotis, Smith, Counts

Neoichnology of vinegaroons: This study documented the tracemaking ability of vinegaroons (whip scorpions). Vinegaroons are organisms related to scorpions, except they lack a stinging tail and their first set of walking limbs are modified into antennae-like structures. Experiments were performed in nine trials of varying grain size and moisture settings. Trackways were found to be preserved better in settings that were dry and fine-grained, with the preservation potential of trackways decreasing as the media became coarser and wetter. Individual tracks were oblong to striate and were arranged in triangular patterns. It is hoped that this research will be used to identify fossil vinegaroon trackways, which have been previously undescribed in the fossil record. Research in this venue is on going as the trackways and behaviors of a variety of arthropods have yet to be documented in detail.
Researchers: Schmerge, Riese, Hasiotis.

Paleoenvironmental analysis of the White River Formation: The paleoecology and paleoclimate of the White River Formation near Douglas, Wyoming was investigated. This formation contains a record of the Eocene-Oligocene transition, a time of significant global cooling. This event was interpreted from the field area based on paleoenvironmental analysis of paleosols, which indicated that forest cover receded during the Oligocene. Stable isotope analysis of carbonate from these rocks confirms that paleotemperatures decreased during the transition as well. These paleoclimate records will be compared to body mass approximations of mammals from those times to evaluate the effect of climate change on mammalian body mass. Research is on going.
Researchers: Schmerge, Hasiotis, Martin