Collecting trilobites in Central New York. Photo credit: Shibajyoti Das
Updates from the Moss Paleobiology Lab
9/5/2024 - New ESLR Micromill2 has arrived! This equipment purchase was made using funds from the NSF CAREER grant. Lab group members will start collecting samples from fossil bivalves for oxygen isotope analyses later this semester.
9/1/2024 - Undergraduate students Skylin Bromonsky and Annie Williford begin work in the lab this semester. Sklyin is working on lifespans of fossil Arctica islandica whereas Annie is working on multiple speices of Glycymeris.
7/1/2024 - Thrilled to announce the official start of the NSF CAREER grant: Using fossil bivalves to study controls on longevity and establish a paleobiological learning ecosystem in southeast Texas. This project seeks to answer three primary questions using fossil bivalves: 1) is lifespan a heritable trait 2) can body size trends be explained by changes in life history strategy 3) how do latitudinal life history gradients change in alternate climate settings. In addition, this project supports two paid undergraduate research assistants each year, provides funds (and stipends!) for teacher workshops for current high school Biology and current SHSU undergraduate education/composite science majors, and will transform my Paleontology of Invertebrates class into a course-based research experience which will include field work in Florida! Stay tuned for updates on all these exciting opportunities.
6/23/2024 - Lab group publication alert! New paper out on lifespans of fossil Glycymeris from the U.S. eastern seaboard. This is a project long in the making and includes two undergraduate students (Stephen Casper, SHSU, and Abby Fancher, UNC) as co-authors. Link to paper.
9/5/2024 - New ESLR Micromill2 has arrived! This equipment purchase was made using funds from the NSF CAREER grant. Lab group members will start collecting samples from fossil bivalves for oxygen isotope analyses later this semester.
9/1/2024 - Undergraduate students Skylin Bromonsky and Annie Williford begin work in the lab this semester. Sklyin is working on lifespans of fossil Arctica islandica whereas Annie is working on multiple speices of Glycymeris.
7/1/2024 - Thrilled to announce the official start of the NSF CAREER grant: Using fossil bivalves to study controls on longevity and establish a paleobiological learning ecosystem in southeast Texas. This project seeks to answer three primary questions using fossil bivalves: 1) is lifespan a heritable trait 2) can body size trends be explained by changes in life history strategy 3) how do latitudinal life history gradients change in alternate climate settings. In addition, this project supports two paid undergraduate research assistants each year, provides funds (and stipends!) for teacher workshops for current high school Biology and current SHSU undergraduate education/composite science majors, and will transform my Paleontology of Invertebrates class into a course-based research experience which will include field work in Florida! Stay tuned for updates on all these exciting opportunities.
6/23/2024 - Lab group publication alert! New paper out on lifespans of fossil Glycymeris from the U.S. eastern seaboard. This is a project long in the making and includes two undergraduate students (Stephen Casper, SHSU, and Abby Fancher, UNC) as co-authors. Link to paper.
