Andrew Schwartz
Using Dental Microwear Texture Analysis to Infer Mammalian Dietary Change During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
My research objective is to identify trends in mammalian diets in the wake of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a period of rapid warming. The goals of this proposed project are as follows: 1) reconstruct the diets and dietary shifts of early mammals from this time, and 2) determine the patterning of any dietary shifts with respect to climate change and body size changes also observed during the PETM. This research will elucidate the effect of the PETM on niches within western North America during the late Paleocene and early Eocene. Illuminating changes in the paleoecology of these environments is vital to understanding how rapid climatic change affects mammals and the ecosystems they inhabit.