Advances in Paleoecology
Program for the 2nd Lembersky Conference in Human Evolutionary Studies (PDF)
Alexander Library Lecture Hall, 4th Floor, 169 College Avenue
Wednesday, November 14
9:30 am: Registration & Breakfast
10:15 am: Opening Remarks
Andrew Barr, George Washington University
10:30 am: Larisa R.G. DeSantis, Vanderbilt University
Integrating and validating paleoecological tools
11:00 am: Fire Kovarovic, Durham University
Mammal communities in context: present day patterns and interpretations of the past
11:30 am: Andrew Du, The University of Chicago
Developing a theoretical framework for time-averaging and understanding its effects on the interpretation of fossil communities
12:00 pm: W. Andrew Barr, George Washington University
Bovid locomotor ecomorphology and ecometrics as paleoenvironmental proxies
12:30 pm: Lunch Break - Gerlanda’s
1:30 pm: Discussion
What do we hope for the future of paleoecology?
3:00 pm: Adjourn for the Day
Thursday, November 15
10:15 am: Breakfast
11:00 am: Craig Feibel, Rutgers University
New paleoecological perspectives from deep drilling in East Africa
11:30 am: Maryse Biernat, Arizona State University
Spatial differences of mammal communities between 2-1.4 Ma in the Turkana Basin, northern Kenya
12:00 pm: Sarah Hlubik, Rutgers University
Preliminary microbotanical investigation of FxJj20 AB, Koobi Fora, Kenya: potential for environmental reconstruction, fire incidence, and human behavior
12:30 pm: Lunch Break - Efes
1:30 pm: Dan Peppe, Baylor University
Reconstructing ancient climate and ecology using fossil plants
2:00 pm: Regan E Dunn, Field Museum of Natural History
From cells to canopies: reconstructing vegetation structure in the fossil record
2:30 pm: Aly Baumgartner, Baylor University
Preliminary paleobotanical paleoclimate estimates from the Early Miocene Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya
3:00 pm: Keynote Address
Gildas Merceron, CNRS - Université de Poitiers
6:00 pm: Reception – 3rd Floor RAB Building, 131 George St
Friday, November 16
10:15 am: Breakfast
11:00 am: Sean Hixon, Pennsylvania State University
Patterns in amino acid δ 15 N values of lemurs are inconsistent with aridity driving megafaunal extinction in southwestern Madagascar
11:30 am: Enquye Negash, George Washington University
Stable isotopic study of soil organic matter: understanding differences in woody cover in modern African Ecosystems
12:00 pm: Deming Yang, Stony Brook University
Intratooth isotope profiles of fossil suids from the Koobi Fora Formation (East Turkana, Kenya) indicate seasonally stable C4 diets but seasonally variable body water or hydroclimate
12:30 pm: Lunch Break – Delhi Garden
1:30 pm: Kendra Chritz, Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History
Using Isotopes to explore the past, present and future of people and ecosystems in East Africa
2:00 pm: Robert S. Scott, Rutgers University
Dental microwear and paranthropit diets
2:30 pm: Amy Rector, Virginia Commonwealth University
Robust australopith paleobiology: The biogeography and paleoenvironments of eastern and southern African Paranthropus
3:00 pm: Discussion
A general concluding discussion, informed now by all talks
4:00 pm: Closing Remarks & Announcement of Excellence Award
Robert S. Scott, Rutgers University
Ryne Palombit, CHES Director, Rutgers University
