Paleontology and Earth History
Landmarks on representative silicified cephala of olenelliod trilobites for study of morphometric developmental integration. (From: Webster, M., and M. L. Zeldtich. 2008. Integration and regulation of developmental systems in trilobites. Pp. 427-433 in Rábano, I., Gozalo, R., and García-Bellido, D (eds.), Advances In Trilobite Research. Cuadernos del Museo Geominero 9. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Madrid.)
Landmarks can also be analyzed in three dimensions, as in a study that tracked morphological diversity throughout the history of blastoid echinoderms. (Drawing by Bonnie Miljour. See M. Foote, 1991. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 28:101-140.)
Bivalves having highly reactive shell compositions tend to have median genus durations that are longer than other genera, contrary to the taphonomic expectation that their durations would be significantly shorter. (From S. M. Kidwell, 2005. Shell composition has no net impact on large-scale evolutionary patterns in mollusks. Science 307:914-917.)
The inverse relation between geographic range and extinction risk appears to vary with severity of extinction. Conceptual model for this variation, such that both slope and intercept may change between times of background (A) and mass (B) extinction. (From: Jablonski, D. 2008. Extinction and the spatial dynamics of biodiversity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105 (Suppl. 1): 11528-11535.)
A geothermal microbial mat in the outflow from a hot spring in Kamchatka, Russia, offers a glimpse of the geochemical complexity and microbial diversity that may have characterized early terrestrial ecosystems. (From: Albert Colman)
Increasing levels of anthropogenic eutrophication in marine habitats result in living assemblages that deviate substantially in species composition from the baseline species pool, based on death assemblages preserved within sediments in these habitats. (From S. M. Kidwell, 2007. Discordance between living and death assemblages as evidence for anthropogenic ecological change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 104:17701-06.)
The minimum volumes that plants must devote to vascular and other tissues limit the volume of tissue that could potentially be devoted to photosynthesis. This suggests that the smallest of the early land plants, such as most Silurian and Devonian Cooksonia, are unlikely to have been free-living and photosynthetic. (From C. K. Boyce, 2008. How green was Cooksonia? Paleobiology 34:179-194.)
Mathematical modeling of origination, extinction, and sampling allows us to turn forward and backward cohort survivorship curves (first two panels, above) into estimates of origination and extinction rates (last panel, above). (See M. Foote, 2003. Origination and extinction through the Phanerozoic: a new approach. Journal of Geology 111:125-148.)
Possible evolutionary changes in body size. Top right quadrant represents Cope's rule, bottom left a directional size decrease, top left an increase in variance, and bottom right a decrease in size range. (From D. Jablonski, 1997. Body-size evolution in Cretaceous molluscs and the status of Cope's rule. Nature 385: 250-252.)
X-ray microscopy images taken at ~285 eV showing lignin distribution (darker shading) in tracheid cells and the phylognetic distribution of lignification patterns and their physiological effects (from C.K. Boyce et al., 2004. Evolution of xylem lignification and hydrogel
transport regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 101:17555-17558.)
For benthic marine invertebrates that prefer carbonate substrates, variation in diversification rates is more strongly correlated with variation in extinction rates than with variation in origination rates. This is not the case for genera that prefer terrigenous clastic substrates. (From M. Foote, 2006. Substrate affinity and diversity dynamics of Paleozoic marine animals. Paleobiology 32:345-366.)
The "Out of the Tropics" model explaining latitudinal diversity gradients, whereby origination and emigration rates are higher and extinction rates are lower in tropical relative to extratropical areas. (From D. Jablonski, K. Roy, & J. W. Valentine, 2006. Out of the tropics: evolutionary dynamics of the latitudinal diversity gradient. Science 314: 102-106.)
The Department of the Geophysical Sciences offers a rich environment for doctoral research across a broad spectrum of topics in paleontology and earth history, ranging from the physiology, development, and biomechanics of organisms to macroevolution. We pursue questions using a wide array of methods, including classical fieldwork to laboratory experimentation, statistical exploration of legacy data and collections, and theoretical modeling. Students are trained via term-length projects in this variety of approaches, and, with advice from their committee, design their own dissertation research.
Faculty whose research focuses on paleontology and Earth history
Related faculty in the Department
Related faculty in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology
Student research and training
Applying for graduate work in paleontology and Earth history
Current post-doctoral researchers
Current graduate students
Complete list of recent PhD graduates
Related programs at the University of Chicago
Faculty whose research focuses on paleontology and Earth history
- C. Kevin Boyce, Evolution of Plant Physiology & Development
- Michael Foote, Evolutionary Paleobiology
- David Jablonski, Macroevolution & Macroecology
- Susan Kidwell, Stratigraphy & Taphonomy, Historical Ecology
- Michael LaBarbera, Invertebrate Biomechanics
- Mark Webster, Invertebrate Paleobiology and Evolution
Related faculty in the Department
- David Archer, Global Carbon Cycle & Climate, Ocean Models
- Maureen Coleman, Microbial evolution and ecology, biogeochemistry
- Albert Colman, Biogeochemistry
- Elisabeth Moyer, Atmopsheric Chemistry
- Raymond Pierrehumbert, Planetary atmospheres
- David Rowley, Global Tectonics
- Jacob Waldbauer, Biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry
Related faculty in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology
- Kenneth D. Angielczyk (Field Museum): vertebrate paleontology and macroevolution
- Rudiger Bieler (Field Museum): Mollusks
- John R. Bolt (Field Museum): Paleozoic tetrapods
- Michael Coates (Organismal Biology and Anatomy): Early vertebrates
- Lance Grande (Field Museum): Fishes
- Lawrence R. Heaney (Field Museum): Mammals, biogeography
- James A. Hopson (Organismal Biology and Anatomy): Mammal-like reptiles
- Scott Lidgard (Field Museum): Bryozoans, ecology
- Peter Makovicky (Field Museum): Dinosaurs, systematics
- Robert Martin (Field Museum): Evolutionary history of primates
- Bruce D. Patterson (Field Museum): Mammals, biogeography
- Cathy Pfister (Ecology and Evolution): Marine ecology
- Trevor Price (Ecology and Evolution): Speciation processes
- Callum Ross (Organismal Biology and Anatomy): vertebrate biomechanics
- Paul Sereno (Organismal Biology and Anatomy): Dinosaurs
- Neil Shubin (Organismal Biology and Anatomy): Fossil tetrapods, evolution and development
- Russell H. Tuttle (Anthropology): Primates
- Janet Voight (Field Museum): Cephalopods
- Mark Westneat (Field Museum, Organismal Biology and Anatomy): Fish biomechanics
- J. Timothy Wootton (Ecology and Evolution): Marine population & community ecology
Recent Former Faculty
- Peter Crane, (formerly with the department, now Dean at Yale) Paleobotany, Conservation Biology
Student research and training
As you will see in the descriptions of faculty research, we pursue a broad variety of topics and, most importantly, pursue these questions using a wide array of methods, ranging from classical field geology and paleontology to laboratory experimentation, statistical exploration of the primary literature, and theoretical modeling. Students are exposed to these various methods of historical analysis through coursework during their first two years, with most courses requiring a research project that gives them first-hand (and often publishable) experience in a set of techniques. Students design their own dissertation research, in consultation with faculty advisors, on an independent topic that best fits their interests and professional aims, involving the collection and analysis of original data either in the field and laboratory or through museum work. As a sample of recent and ongoing student research, see the list of current students and recent dissertation titles.
Our training program has no required courses, but students participate in weekly seminars throughout the year, and most students take most of the following courses during their time in the program:
- 36000 Morphometrics (Webster)
- 36100 Chemical Information in the Sedimentary and Fossil Records (Boyce & Martin)
- 36500 Analytical Paleobiology (Foote; alternates multivariate statistics & mathematical modeling)
- 36700 Taphonomy (Kidwell)
- 36800 Macroevolution (Jablonski; alternates "origins" & "fates" of major innovations & groups)
- 36900 Topics in Paleobiology (Jablonski)
- 37000 Evolutionary History of Terrestrial Ecosystems (Boyce & Makovicky)
- 37200 Biomechanics (LaBarbera; alternates solids and fluids)
- 38400 Topics in Stratigraphy and Biosedimentology (Kidwell; seminars & graduate fieldtrips)
- 38500 Stratigraphic Analysis (Kidwell)
Additional courses offered regularly include: Principles of Stratigraphy (Kidwell), Principles of Paleontology (Foote), Invertebrate Paleobiology and Evolution (Webster), Species and the Fossil Record (Webster), Field Course in Modern and Ancient Environments (staff, spring break), Field Course in Geology (staff, spring break), Global Tectonics (Rowley), Global Biogeochemical Cycles (Archer), Proxies and Reconstructions in Paleoceanography (Martin), Quaternary Paleoclimates (Martin, Archer), Evolutionary Processes (Van Valen), Systematics (staff), Speciation (Coyne), Chordate Biology (Coates, Shubin), Evolutionary Changes in Development (Prince), Community Ecology (Pfister), and Biogeography (Patterson, Heaney).
Applying for graduate work in paleontology and Earth history
Because several programs at the University of Chicago grant degrees in paleobiology – the Department of Geophysical Sciences (DOGS), Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy (OBA), and Committee on Evolutionary Biology (CEB) – applications to one program are often reviewed and considered by more than one program. We do this to increase the overall number of students who can be admitted, and to best match the student to programs, given their background and interests. Only one application, and one application fee, is required.
Students with majors in the Earth or biological sciences are encouraged to apply to The Department of Geophysical Sciences. Applicants with undergraduate or other degrees in the biological sciences may be best matched to Geophysical Sciences, OBA, or CEB depending on their research interests.
Acceptance is based on the usual criteria: evidence of high scholastic achievement and promise via GREs, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and essay on research interests. A master’s degree is not required to enter the PhD program. However, students generally do have a substantive independent research experience, which should be described in the application essay. We encourage prospective students to discuss their interests directly with faculty members and, if possible, to visit campus to see our facilities and to meet faculty and graduate students.
Graduate students are eligible for financial support in the form of Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, and a variety of fellowships. Assistantships include payment of tuition, health insurance, and a stipend.
For application materials, please inquire at info@geosci.uchicago.edu.
Current post-doctoral researchers
• Sarah Berke (PhD, University of South Carolina) Ecology and biogeography of marine bivalves
• Zach Krug (PhD, Penn State)Marine macroevolution and biogeography
• Adam Tomasovych(PhD, University of Wurzburg, Germany) Marine benthic taphonomy and ecology
Current graduate students
- Christina Belanger: Physiological, population, and community-level responses of mollusks to climate change, Miocene of Oregon (Kidwell/Martin)
- Hilary Christensen: Body size and reconstruction of diet in early Cenozoic mammals (Boyce)
- Mara Brady: Sedimentary and fossil completeness of Devonian carbonate records as a function of subsidence (Kidwell)
- Kathryn Larson: Evolution, function, and biogeography of fruit form in the Fagales (Boyce/Crane)
- David Bapst: Functional evolution and diversification of Ordovician graptoloids (Foote)
- Marie Hoerner: (pre-candidacy)
- Kristen Jenkins: (pre-candidacy)
- Samuel Miller: (pre-candidacy)
- Mark Gorman: (pre-candidacy)
Complete list of recent PhD graduates
- 2010 Andrew Leslie, Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University. Thesis: "Forms follow functions: exploring the evolution of morphological diversity in seed plant reproductive structures" (Advisor: Boyce)
- 2010 Melanie Hopkins, Meeker Postdoctoral Fellow, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Thesis:"Species-level variation, its geographic structure, and the relationship between variation and duration, with examples from Cambrian trilobites and fiddler crabs" (Advisor: Webster)
- 2010 Annat Haber, Postdoctoral Fellow, Tel Aviv University. Thesis: "Morphological integration in the ruminant skull: macroevolutionary aspects" (Advisor: Webster)
- 2009 Joshua Miller, Postdoctoral Fellow, Wright State University. Thesis: "The large-mammal death assemblage of Yellowstone National Park: Historical ecology, conservation biology, paleoecology" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2009 Paul Harnik, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University. Thesis: "Macroecological drivers of extinction risk in early Cenozoic mollusks" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2008 Rebecca Terry, NOAA Global Climate Change Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University. Thesis: "Raptors, rodents, and paleoecology: recovering ecological baselines from Great Basin caves" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2007 Surangi Punyasena, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois (Urbana). Thesis: "The relationship of neotropical forests to climate : late quaternary and modern biogeographic gradients" (Advisor: McElwain)
- 2007 Philip Anderson, Royal Society post-doctoral fellow, University of Bristol. Thesis: "Biomechanical and ecomorphologic evolution of Late Devonian fish faunas" (Advisors: LaBarbera/Westneat)
- 2006 Lee Hsiang Liow, Post-doctoral researcher, University of Oslo. Thesis: "Oddities, wonders, and other tall-tales of 'living fossils' " (Advisor: Lidgard)
- 2006 Carl Simpson, Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Thesis: "Species selection and morphological trends in camerate crinoids" (Advisor: Foote)
- 2006 Bjarte Hannisdal, Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen. Thesis: "Inferring evolutionary patterns from fossil records using Bayesian inversion: an application to the Miocene of the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2005 David Sunderlin, Assistant Professor, Lafayette College. Thesis: "Permian phytogeographic patterns on Northern Pangea with new data from the Alaska Range" (Advisors: Ziegler/Rowley)
- 2005 Thomas Rothfus, Executive Director, Gerace Research Center, University of the Bahamas. Thesis: "Taphonomic damage, taxonomic identifiability, & preservational quality: implications for bias in paleoecogical data" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2005 Emily Greenfest-Allen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Penn Center for Bioinformatics, University of Pennsylvania. Thesis: "New perspectives on a classic macroevolutionary trend: Complexity, extinction selectivity, and the evolution of Paleozoic ammonoid suture morphology" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2004 Yael Edelman-Furstenberg, tenured Research Geologist, Geological Survey of Israel. Thesis: "Macrobenthic paleoecology of high-productivity marine environments, Cretaceous of Israel and Recent of Namibia" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2003 Rebecca Price. Assistant Professor, University of Washington (Bothell). Thesis: "Function, ontogeny, and history of columellar folds in fasciolariid gastropods" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2003 Shanan Peters, Asstistant Professor, University of Wisconsin. Thesis: "Evolution of community structure in early Paleozoic benthic macroinvertebrates" (Advisor: Foote)
- 2003 Alistair McGowan, Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Fellow, University of Glasgow. Thesis: "Macroevolutionary dynamics of Triassic ammonoids" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2003 Matthew A. Kosnik. Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie University. Thesis: "Ecological response of benthic communities to the Mesozoic marine revolution" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2003 Gene Hunt, Curator, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Thesis: "Micro- and macroevolution of morphological covariance in ostracodes" (Advisor: Foote)
- 2002 Francesca Smith, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University. Thesis: "Biogeography of Neogene C3 & C4 grasses: C-isotopic signatures of phytoliths" (Advisors: Kidwell/J. White (U Colo Boulder))
- 2001 Karin Goldberg, Professor, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Thesis: "Paleoclimatic evolution of the Permian Parana Basin, southern Brazil" (Advisors: Rowley/Zeigler/Humayan)
- 2001 Kate Lyons, Research Scientist, Smithsonian NMNH. Thesis: "A quantitative assessment of the community structure and dynamics of Pleistocene mammals" (Advisor: Foote)
- 2001 Rowan Lockwood, Associate Professor, College of William and Mary. Thesis: "Extinction and rebound: evolutionary patterns in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic bivalves" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 2000 Mairi Best, Associate Director-Science, NEPTUNE Canada, Victoria, BC. Thesis: "Fates of bivalve skeletal carbonate in tropical siliciclastics and carbonates, Caribbean Panama" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 2000 Melinda Brady. Thesis: "Patterns of Morphogenesis in Angiosperm Flowers" (Advisors: Crane/Foote)
- 2000 Hallie J. Sims, Assistant Professor, University of Iowa. Thesis: "Evolutionary patterns in late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic seed morphology" (Advisors: Crane/Foote)
- 1999 Susana Magallon, Professor, Universita Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico City). Thesis: "Early diversification of eudicot floral morphology" (Advisor: Crane)
- 1998 Daniel Miller, Collections Manager, Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan. Thesis: "Large-scale temporal and biogeographic patterns of evolution in muricine gastropods: the role of predation" (Advisor: LaBarbera)
- 1997 Richard Lupia, Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma. Thesis: "Cretaceous angiosperm diversity, paleoecology & paleobiogeography" (Advisor: Crane)
- 1997 Gunther Eble, Researcher, CNRS, University of Burgundy, Dijon. Thesis: "The macroevolutionary history of diversity and disparity in disasteroid, holasteroid, and spatangoid heart urchins" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 1997 Michael Hulver, Geologist, Saudi Aramco. Thesis: "Post-orogenic evolution of the Appalachian mountain system and its foreland" (Advisor: Rowley)
- 1996 Paul Markwick, Consultant, Robertson Research, U.K. Thesis: "Late Cretaceous to Pleistocene climates: nature of the transition from a 'hot-house' to an 'ice-house' world"(Advisor: Ziegler)
- 1995 Raymond Rogers, Professor, Macalester College. Thesis: "Sequence stratigraphy & vertebrate taphonomy of Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine & Judith River Fms, Montana" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 1995 Peter Wagner, Curator, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Thesis: "The generation and maintenance of morphologic and phylogenetic diversity among Early Paleozoic gastropods" (Advisor: Sepkoski)
- 1995 Jane Masterson, Lecturer, Columbia College, Chicago. Thesis: "The evolutionary history and significance of polyploidy in angiosperms" (Advisors: Crane/Jablonski)
- 1995 Elizabeth LeClair, Associate Professor, DePaul University. Thesis: "Invertebrate vertebrae: evolutionary morphology and experimental biomechanics of Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata)" (Advisor: LaBarbera)
- 1995 Yao Ji-Ping, Software Engineer, Malagan Partners. Thesis: "Approaches to paleoclimatic reconstructions with examples from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic of Eurasia" (Advisor: Ziegler)
- 1994 Sherman Suter, Book Review Editor, Science. Thesis: "Phylogenetic analyses of cassidulid echinoids: Morphology, homoplasy, and stratigraphic data" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 1994 Kaustuv Roy, Professor, University of California, San Diego. Thesis: "Taxonomic, morphologic & biogeographic change in stromboidean gastropods and their macroevol. implications" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 1994 John Alroy, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie University. Thesis: "Quantitative mammalian biochronology and biogeography of North America" (Advisor: Raup)
- 1993 Jay A. Schneider, Lecturer, George Washington University. Thesis: "Evolutionary patterns of cardiid bivalves" (Advisor: Jablonski)
- 1992 Mark E. Patzkowsky, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University. Thesis: "Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of the Ordovician radiation of articulate brachiopods" (Advisor: Sepkoski)
- 1991 Eric D. Gyllenhaal, Senior Scientist, Selinda Associates Museum Evaluations. Thesis: "How accurately can paleo-precipitation and paleoclimatic change be interpreted from subaerial unconformities?" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 1990 Nie Shang-You, Shell International (Houston). Thesis: "Constraints on the Paleozoic plate reconstruction of China" (Advisor: Ziegler)
- 1990 Daniel W. McShea, Associate Professor, Duke University. Thesis: "Complexity and evolution" (Advisor: Raup)
- 1990 Conrad C. Labandeira, Curator, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Thesis: "Use of a phenetic analysis of Recent hexapod mouthparts for hexapod food resource guilds in the fossil record" (Advisor: Raup)
- 1990 Mark A. Horrell, Faculty, Illinois Math & Sciences Academy. Thesis: "A global-scale reconstruction of Late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian) climate" (Advisor: Ziegler)
- 1990 Steven M. Holland, Professor, University of Georgia. Thesis: "Distinguishing eustasy & tectonics in foreland sequences: Upper Ordovician Cincinnati Arch & Appalachian Basin" (Advisor: Kidwell)
- 1990 Tomasz K. Baumiller, Professor, University of Michigan. Thesis: "Crinoid functional morphology and the energetics of passive suspension feeding" (Advisor: LaBarbera)
- 1989 Charles R. Marshall, Professor, University of California, Berkeley. Thesis: "DNA-DNA hybridization, morphology and the fossil record of sand dollars (Echinodermata: Clypeasteroida): phylogeny and rates of single-copy DNA evolution" (Advisors: Raup/Hewson Swift)
- 1989 Michael Foote, Professor, University of Chicago. Thesis: "Morphological evolution of Cambrian and Ordovician trilobites" (Advisor: Raup)
- 1989 George E. Boyajian, Private sector (Biotechnology). Thesis: "Taxon aging and its role in models of background and mass extinction" (Advisor: Sepkoski)
- 1986 Arnold I. Miller, Professor, University of Cincinnati. Thesis: "Spatio-temporal development of the class bivalvia during the Paleozoic era" (Advisor: Sepkoski)
Related programs at the University of Chicago
We interact regularly with paleontologists in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, with ecologists and evolutionary biologists in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, and with a large and active group of paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, taxonomists, and ecologists drawn from across the Chicago area via the Committee on Evolutionary Biology.
