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Ostracode Research Activities inUnited States of America
Correspondent: Pamela Borne Blanchard <PamB@lsu.edu>
Blanchard, Pamela Borne. I finished my Ph.D. at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) in May 1998 under the direction of Joe Hazel. The title of my dissertation is "Pliocene and Pleistocene Marine Ostracoda of the Limón Basin, Costa Rica: A Record of Paleoenvironmental Change". I am currently employed as an Assistant Professor of Research at LSU for the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and am coordinating their marine education program.
Briggs, Bill. Bill is currently working on ostracodes in box cores from the Western Arctic Ocean and Chukchi Sea; Shelf and Atlantic-water ostracodes from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Brouwers, Elisabeth. Elisabeth has been occupied with administrative tasks related to running the Central Region of the Geologic Division, USGS in Denver. This is a great learning experience, providing some great insights into how other USGS groups such as Water Resources, Biological Resources, and the cartography group operate, as well as working on opportunities on interdisciplinary project work across the programs. In the little time available for ostracode work, I am working on a CD-ROM that has a chapter on Paleogene ostracodes from Pakistan and a chapter on modern ostracodes from Rio Que Quen, Argentina. In addition, I am doing some biostratigraphic zonation for Tertiary ostracodes from South Florida related to studies of the aquifer system, and providing some reconstructions of aquatic biological systems on an historical time scale for a watershed in Colorado severely impacted by hard rock mining and the consequent acid mine drainage and metal loading.
Cohen, Anne C. I'm working on manuscripts describing Caribbean myodocopids that perform bioluminescent mating displays and the evolution of bioluminescence in the Cypridinidae, as well as the Treatise post-Paleozoic Myodocopida. I am writing [with assistance from Dawn Peterson] the Ostracoda section for the next [4th] edition of The Light and Smith Manual [Intertidal Invertebrates of the Central California Coast], edited by James T. Carlton, and would be grateful for any information or advice on that topic.
Cronin, Tom. My current research is on Holocene climate and ecosystem history Chesapeake Bay and Florida Bay, as well as shell chemistry of Loxoconcha and Peratocytheridea, deep-sea Krithe Mg/Ca shell geochemistry and Quaternary paleoceanography (with Gary Dwyer and Baker at Duke University). I am also working on deep-sea Quaternary ostracodes with Julio Rodriguez-Lazaro, the tropical Neogene with Pam Blanchard, and Antarctic ostracodes (helping Masako Kato of Shizuoka). In addition, I am teaching a climate change course at George Mason University (GMU). A book developed from the GMU course, called "Principles of Paleoclimatology" is due out (Columbia University Press) in June 1999. I have two students working with me, Alex Karlsen (GMU masters on Chesapeake benthic foraminifera) and Sarah Gorden (Penn State University masters on Chesapeake Bay sedimentation).
Curry, Brandon. I have been busy with our new theme at the Illinois State Geological Survey: geologic mapping. I try to maintain a modicum of research regarding ostracodes, paleohydrology, and paleoclimate, but these do not quite fit into our main program. Work involving ostracodes that is in progress includes examination of two Holocene lacustrine records, and several near-glacial sites in Illinois. The latter investigations emphasizes fine-tuning the chronology of deglaciation of the Lake Michigan Lobe. I also have been working with Dr. Feng Shen Hu (a new faculty member here at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) on ostracode and biogeochemical records from Alaska. I have been working with Emi Ito on understanding the population dynamics and biogeochemistry of common pond-dwelling ostracodes in Champaign, Illinois. I was a reader for Jason Mann's Master's thesis (under Dr. Jim Teller, University of Manitoba) entitled " Using ostracodes and sediments in paleolagoons behind the Upper Campbell beach of glacial Lake Agassiz to reconstruct its history during the Emerson Phase" (1999, 293 p.). Jason used ostracodes to help him reconstruct environments in a paleolagoon environment associated with Lake Agassiz. I was merely a reader on his committee.
Forester, Rick. My current work involves using ostracode species assemblages from various cores in the Great Basin and other data sets, such as diatom species assemblages, stable isotope profiles, and plant macrofossils from packrat middens, in collaboration with many colleagues, to estimate the general characteristics of climate for the next 10,000 years in southern Nevada. The climates include the modern climate, a strong monsoon, and a glacial transition. The characteristics of the climates are derived from analog meteorological stations and those station data used as input to an infiltration model. The infiltration model output then feeds a performance assessment model that strives to evaluate the suitability of Yucca Mountain Nevada as a geologic repository for high level nuclear waste. Other work includes looking at ostracodes from cores and outcrops covering the Holocene and the Quaternary from throughout the Great Basin of the USA.
Hays, Karen. Karen is a graduate student of Emi Ito. She is working on the laboratory calibration of stable isotope and trace element fractionation by lacustrine ostracodes, a collaborative study with Alison Smith and Rick Forester.
Hazel, Joe. I have been working on organizing and curationing collection, and trying to set up a website that would, in part, be a clearing house for stratigraphic information, including North American ostracodes. But it goes slowly. I had one student complete her doctoral dissertation this past year, Pam Borne Blanchard.
Ito, Emi. I am working, with Alison Smith and Rick Forester, on the calibration of lacustrine ostracode shell chemistry. My student Karen Hays is about to start culture work on several "common" lacustrine nektic and benthic species. Field collection of ostracodes from lakes and wetlands of different hydrochemistry is continuing. In addition, I am also working on stable isotope and trace element study of fossil ostracodes collected by David Williams from Matanuska Valley in Alaska is progressing slowly, as is the study of fossil ostracodes from Lake Zeribar, Iran (collected nearly 40 years ago by Herb Wright). The latter is being carried out by Lora Stevens with the assemblage study being carried out by Antje Schwalb and Huw Griffiths.
Kaesler, Roger. I continue to serve as Director of the Paleontological Institute, Editor of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, and Curator-in-Charge of the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology of the Natural History Museum. I am also Professor of Geology and teach courses in paleontology, micropaleontology, and paleoecology. Next year I am scheduled to teach for the first time an introductory-level course entitled Prehistoric Life, which will be geared for students who do not plan to pursue a degree in geology. With a co-author, I am working on a textbook on historical geology in my spare time. W. Scott Heath is preparing a magisterial thesis on taphofacies analyses using microfossils. He is basing his study on the highly fossiliferous Hughes Creek Shale Member of the Foraker Limestone in east-central Kansas, an Upper Carboniferous unit. Karin Fischer is preparing a magisterial thesis on the ostracode fauna of the Beil Limestone Member of the Lecompton Limestone, a highly fossiliferous Upper Carboniferous unit in east central Kansas. Several other students are working on theses and dissertations that do not deal with ostracodes. I have three doctoral students who are working outside the area of ostracodes and three magisterial students, one of whom is not working on ostracodes. My own research and writing are directed largely toward the development of databases in paleontology, although I also do some work on late Paleozoic ostracodes from rocks of the mid-continent of North America. Well underway is volume 2 of Part H (Brachiopoda, revised) of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, publication of which is expected in mid-1999.
Kontrovitz, Mervin. I continue with studies of the taphonomy of ostracodes and foraminifera. Currently, I am working on shell ornamentation and differential transport as applied to ostracodes and other shelled groups. I have one student, Chris Sampagnaro, who is working on the taphonomy of agglutinated foraminifera.
Krutak, Paul. Although I am nearing retirement in June 1999, I still have a strong interest in modern ostracodes of Mexico. I am pursuing these interests by applying for a W. Storrs Cole Memorial Fellowship from the Geological Society of America for 1999-2000. If successful, I will work on epiphytal and carbonate-sand interstitial ostracodes from the Laguna Chunyaxche and the Bahía Emiliano Zapata along the northeastern Yucatán Peninsula. The work will be done jointly with the academic and administrative staff of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología at Universidad Nacionál Autónoma de Mexico in Mexico City. This work will be done in collaboration with Dra. Maria Luisa Machain-Castillo and M en C. Raul Gio-Argáez at their branch research station at Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo. In April 1999, Raul Gio-Argáez and I will be presenting a pre-convention American Association Petroleum Geologists field trip, "Reefal Development in a Terrigenous Province – Veracruz/Anton Lizardo Reefs, Mexico". Upon retiring, I plan to remain active as a consultant in geology and micropaleontology. I will be named Emeritus at Fort Hays State University and periodically will serve on committees here in Hays. My wife and I will maintain our residence in Colorado.
Kuglitsch, Jeff. I’m a conodont worker who has been seduced by ostracodes. I'm presently working with Dr. David L. Clark at U.W.-Madison (Silurian conodont biostratigraphy and conodont strontium isotope stratigraphy). My current work involves completing a detailed description of an ostracode fauna from the lower Silurian (Aeronian) Burnt Bluff Group of the Michigan Basin. My other interests include Upper Ordovician ostracodes and Silurian conodont biostratigraphy.
Kulkoyluoglu, Okan. I am enrolled in the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology program at the University of Nevada, Reno. I am working on my Ph.D. dissertation that I expect to finish it by May 1999. The title of my dissertation is called "Taxonomy, Ecology and Biogeographical distribution of spring-dwelling ostracoda (Crustacea) in Nevada". This study is interesting from different ways and aims to (1) complete an extensive (over 200 sites) taxonomic survey on spring ostracodes in Nevada; (2) to present both quantitative and qualitative description of the ecology of the spring ostracodes; (3) to estimate their biogeographic distribution in Nevada, and (4) to study the conservation status of natural spring habitats in Nevada. Results show that species diversity and richness of these isolated spring habitats are relatively very high. Also, results suggest that an immediate conservation plan must be taken to protect the spring habitats. One other interesting parts of this study is that I am using Nested subset analyses and the models of the island biogeography theory to understand the historical relationship between species distribution and diversity in the Great Basin area. Last year was not good for me that my major advisor Dr. Gary L. Vinyard (49) passed away after a sudden heart attack.
Lambert, Pierre. I have be working on Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca analyses of Late Holocene ostracode shells from Crimea (lakes Saki and Chokrak).
Lundin, Robert. Robert is working on the revision of Jones' (1889) nonpalaeocope ostracodes from the Llandoverian red beds of Gotland (with Harry Birkmann). Nonpalaeocope ostracodes from the Silurian sequence of Gotland (with Harry Birkmann). Harry Birkmann has completed his dissertation entitled "Podocope, metacope and platycope ostracodes from the Silurian of Gotland: shape analysis, biostratigraphy and systematics".
Oakley, Todd. I am currently working a molecular phylogenetic study of ostracods focusing on family/subfamily relationships in Myodocopa. Currently I have used the rDNA gene 18S with good success, and I plan to add more genes soon. This phylogeny supports the claim of Parker (1995) that compound eyes have origininated in myodocopids independently of all other arthropods. To further test the independent eyes hypothesis, I am examining genes involved in vision. The first such candidate is the opsin gene family. I am currently characterizing opsins of the bioluminescent species, Vargula hilgendorfii. Soon I will characterize opsins from the other four myodocopid families, and podocopid and non-ostracod outgroups. The evolutionary history of this gene family should allow further testing of the independent eyes hypothesis.
Park, Lisa. This year I did field work in Lake Tanganyika, the Paleogene of Oman and in a salt contaminated marsh in Mentor, Ohio. I organized a symposium on phylogeny reconstruction for the National Geological Society of America meeting in Denver and presented papers at the SIL Congress in Dublin, Ireland and the National GSA in Toronto. Current work is focused on: biogeography of Caribbean non-marine faunas; ecology of Lake Tanganyika ostracods; phylogenetic reconstruction of Gomphocythere; Afar triangle non-marine ostracods; non-marine ostracods of the Panaca Formation, Nevada; and Paleogene ostracods from Oman. I am working with four students: Joshua Whipple, "Geological and Environmental Assessment of Mentor Marsh, Ohio", Michael Bartosek, "Paleoenvironmental Analysis of the Miocene Red Series, Afar Triangle", Julie Brown, "Species Morphological Variability in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa", and Bryce Dingman, "Assessing the Biodiversity Changes of a Salt Contaminated Marsh, Mentor, Ohio".
Peterson, Dawn. I am a curatorial assistant engaged in research at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California. My current activity includes 1) Research on brackish and freshwater ostracodes and mollusks of early to middle Miocene southern Ecuador in conjunction with the Swiss Geological Institute. 2) Research into the systematics, paleogeography, and paleoecology of marine ostracode faunas of the middle to late Miocene Darien region of Panama, in conjunction with the Panama Paleontology Project. 3) Research into the Mio-Pliocene ostracode and molluscan faunas of the Bering Strait under Dr. Louis Marincovich. 4) Developing a chapter on intertidal ostracoda, with Dr. Anne Cohen, for the new edition of Light's Manual, "Intertidal Invertebrates of the Central California Coast". 5) I am studying micromolluscs, ostracodes, and foraminifera of cold-seep carbonates of northern California with Dr. Kathleen A. Campbell of the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Ross, Robert. I run the education program at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and have had little time for ostracode research in the past year. My primary activity has been to move my collections (shallow marine Late Cenozoic and Recent equatorial Pacific and Bermuda) into the PRI collections. Many ostracode workers may not realize that PRI is estimated to have one of the largest museum micropaleo slide and bulk sample collections in the United States. In July 1998 we opened a new building for PRI collections, and established the "Fred B. and Helen J. Plummer Micropaleontology Room," in which we intend to set up an SEM donated by Kodak. There are large collections for Cenozoic foraminifera, including many type and figured specimens, of the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains and the Caribbean, particularly Cuba. Many core samples, cuttings, and slides are from Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, which came to PRI from the several oil companies. There are also large numbers of bulk samples from northern South America and the southern Caribbean made by Floyd and Helen Hodson, during their employment by various oil companies in the 1920's and 1930's. Many of the areas from which the samples came are no longer accessible. Also at PRI are the original collections of James McLean, which served as the basis for his published card sets of ostracodes and foraminifera. The collection has not yet received much curation, but visitors are welcome.
Schellenberg, Stephen A. Majority of this past year was dedicated towards completion of my Ph.D. and submission of numerous post-doctoral proposals. My research efforts were split between ostracode faunal and morphometric work at the Smithsonian NMNH and geochemical work at UC-Santa Cruz. This Ph.D. research will be submitted for publication (see publication list). My future interests and endeavors include morphologic and evolutionary aspects of Agrenocythere and Krithe (in collaboration with Dick Benson), high-resolution study of late Quaternary ostracode faunas within the Santa Baraba Basin, modern distribution and ecology of cold seep ostracodes in the Monterey Bay region, and trace-element and stable isotope work on ostracodes and benthic foraminifera.
Shapley, Mark. Mark is a graduate student of Emi Ito. He is working on a paleohydrogeologic investigation in Ovando Valley, Montana. He is using sediment cores retrieved from two lakes of contrasting salinity and will study the endogenic carbonate accumulation and ostracode shell chemistry to investigate the variation in the groundwater input to the lakes for the last 8,000 years. This is a collaborative study with Joe Donovan and Alison Smith.
Smith, Allison. I continue to work with colleagues Emi Ito, Dan Engstrom, Sheri Fritz, Eric Grimm, and Joe Donovan in the northern Great Plains of the U.S. to reconstruct drought histories over different time scales, in order to understand the pattern of climate change in that region. The ostracode ecology, isotopic and trace element composition all aid in reconstructing the climate patterns. I am also working with colleagues Ted Moore, Dave Rea, Linda Shane, Thane Anderson, and C.F. Michael Lewis to interpret the paleolimnology of Lake Huron and northern Lake Michigan over Holocene time scales, using the ostracode ecology and isotopic signature. Work continues on the COG project with Emi Ito, Rick Forester, Don Palmer, and myself to calibrate the oxygen isotope signature of ostracodes against that of the water in which they live. We are conducting a number of field calibration studies, including a transect crossing a major climate gradient, a seasonal study (see Sonia Bacon's thesis, below), a study along a precipitation gradient in a variety of hydrologic habitats, and a study along a single hydrologic flow path. Emi Ito is, in addition to doing all the geochemical work on these studies, also conducting culture experiments in order to calibrate the osygen isotope signature and trace element signature against the values of the water. One part of this study is to prepare the LCO (Lakes-Climate- Ostracodes) dataset initially begun by Rick Forester at the USGS, and continued by Rick, Brandon Curry, myself, and many others, for the Worldwide Web. This work is progressing well, and we are still hoping for a release this calendar year. Ohio has many calcareous fen wetlands that are inhabited by semi-terrestrial species as well as spring species. I am continuing to study these interesting taxa, which include Scottia and Microdarwinula species amongst others, and to get students involved in research by studying these local wetlands. Graduate Students 1997-99: John S. Carney, M.S. 1997, Thesis Title: The use of ostracodes and stable isotopes as indicators of surface-groundwater interaction in Hayes County, Texas. Dana L. Oleskiewicz, M.S. 1998, Thesis Title: The spatial and seasonal distribution of ostracodes in East Twin Lake, Ohio. Sonia W. Bacon, M.S. 1999, Thesis Title: Seasonal constraints on oxygen isotope values of living freshwater ostracodes.
Sohn, Greg. Greg Sohn returned to the Museum this past February after an absense. Greg and Bonnie are settled into a new environment (the second major move in the past few years). Greg has had some health problems that had him in and out of the hospital during the holiday season. He is continuing his work on the revision of the ostracode treatise and recently had a paper published in the Journal of Paleontology (see the reference in the Papers in Print listing).
Swain, Frederick. My book"Fossil Nonmarine Ostracoda of the United States" will be published Spring 1999 be Elsevier Science-NL. I decided against posting it on the Internet as suggested in Cypris98 based on advice from colleagues. Also I am studying some micro-ostracodes from Eocene of Atlantic region.
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CYPRIS No. 17 (1999): home page, table of contents, ostracode research by country list