University of Colorado at Boulder doctoral candidate Mary Ellen Benson’s research is in the news at Boulder’s Nanomaterials Characterization Facility.

Diatoms may someday play a role in microelectronics and other nanotechnological devices by growing nano-scale structures. The trick is getting the diatoms, a type of microscopic algae, to build the right structures.

Read more about Benson’s research on the fossil diatoms of Florissant and how researchers may use diatoms for nanotechnological applications in Dan Ray’s article, Nanotechnology in Nature: Ancient Algae Hints at Earth’s Past, Nanotechnology’s Future.

More on Mary Ellen Benson’s research…

• Exceptional diversity of fossil algae at Florissant

-Melissa Barton

Photo: Modern marine diatoms (Photo Credit: Prof. Gordon T. Taylor, Stony Brook University, USA)

Despite over 120 years of fossil discoveries, the Florissant Fossil Beds are still producing new discoveries.

A new genus and species of fossil mole has been described from Florissant, published in September 2007 in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Karen Lloyd, who graduated in 2007 from the University of Colorado with an M.S. in Museum and Field Studies, discovered a partial jaw with three teeth among material collected from Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Lloyd named the fossil mole Oreotalpa florissantensis, which means “mountain mole from Florissant” (oreo = mountain, talpa = mole). In addition to representing a new genus and species, Oreotalpa is the first evidence that moles lived around ancient Lake Florissant, as well as the oldest known specimen of a mole from North America. While moles were previously believed to have originated in Europe, Oreotalpa suggests the possibility of a North American origin for moles.

Research since 2003 by Lloyd, her advisor Dr. Jaelyn Eberle, and another Museum and Field Studies graduate and former park intern, Marie Worley-Georg, has more than tripled the number of known fossil mammals from Florissant.

The list now includes rodents (relatives of squirrels, mice, and the “mountain beaver” Aplodontia), rabbits, shrews and other insectivores, the small three-toed horse Mesohippus, deer-like Leptomeryx, sheep-sized oreodonts, a pigmy opossum, a rhinoceros-like brontothere, and a tapir-like ancestor of the rhinoceroses. Although less abundant at Florissant than fossil plants and insects, mammals are an important part of the ecological picture of ancient Lake Florissant.

You can read an abstract and download a copy of Lloyd and Eberle’s paper at Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

-Melissa Barton

Image Credit: Walter Heubach (German, 1865-1923) (European mole, Talpa europaea)

Last spring I applied for and received a Schuchert and Dunbar Grant-in-Aid to visit Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History and study their collection of insects from the Antero Formation of South Park, Colorado, as part of my thesis on ecological changes during the Eocene and Oligocene. Yale’s collection of Antero insects and plants, while small, is currently the most significant Antero collection in any museum. My advisor at the University of Colorado–Boulder, Dr. Dena Smith, and I thought it was important to examine this historical collection. While we had already borrowed most of the plant specimens, the Peabody has approximately 400 insect specimens (a lot to pack up), and this was a great opportunity to study both those and the plant specimens which were too fragile to loan.

I spent a week photographing and examining the insect fossils with a microscope, and was also able to see the other plant fossils. The trip was very productive for me, as in addition to having a better idea of the insect diversity and sizes, I now have a far better understanding of the lithology (geological characteristics) of the lake shales.

I also determined that Dr. Christopher Durden, who collected the fossils as a student at Yale in the 1960s, was not sorting in the field, as the majority of the insects are extremely tiny, and a few specimens turned out not to be specimens at all, but simply discoloration on the rocks. It was clear that Durden collected anything that looked like it might be a fossil. This is important, as it reassures me that the insect collection will be useful for ecological analysis. However, since Durden was collecting insects and insects and plants are rarely found in equal abundance in the same layers, that explains the small size of the plant collection relative to the insect collection. Unfortunately, while the plants provide an important species list, the sample is too small for statistical analysis.

Unlike Florissant, the majority of the insects present are extremely tiny, hardly visible with the naked eye. Fly larvae and aquatic insects were extremely common. The preservation is often extremely good, showing fine detail of wing venation and patterns on beetle carapaces. Among the plants, I also observed a species previously undescribed in the Antero literature, which may in fact be a new genus or species.

The chance to visit the Peabody was also exciting for other reasons–the collections and workspaces are housed in the new environmental science building, in purpose-built spaces designed for museum collections. The collections spaces are spacious and climate-controlled, with separate air-handling systems to keep down dust and movable shelving with room for further expansion of collections. It was truly inspiring to see what museum collections spaces can look like when built according to modern standards.

Sadly, it is challenging to convey the importance of collections to the public, given their behind-the-scenes nature, and most museums have difficulty obtaining the funding and public support necessary to renovate collections spaces. Museum collections contain a vast amount of our scientific and cultural heritage, and provide invaluable resources for research, education, and exhibit. I believe that ensuring that they receive proper care should be a public priority.

I am extremely grateful to Dr. Derek Briggs, curator of invertebrate paleontology, Dr. Susan Butts, invertebrate paleontology collections manager, and Dr. Leo Hickey, curator of paleobotany, for this opportunity and their assistance during my visit.

Read more about the Antero project…

• A Tale of Two Lakes…
• More Mountain Mahogany
• Exploring South Park

-Melissa Barton

Photos: Melissa Barton (click for larger images)

Scientists, including Friends president Steven W. Veatch, will be continuing research on the Ice Age mammoth discovered at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in 2002. Veatch, who has an M.S. in geology from Emporia State University, presented a paper on the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in 2004. The mammoth, informally dubbed “Milo,” is at least 33 million years younger than the other fossils of Florissant, dating to the Pleistocene period.

Now Veatch and Dr. David M. Jarzen of the Paleobotany and Palynology Laboratory at the Florida Museum of Natural History will be studying the environment the mammoth lived in using some very tiny clues–fossil pollen from the sediments surrounding the mammoth bones.

The tough coatings of pollen grains hold up well in the fossil record, so pollen often provides important clues to past environments even when larger plant fossils are absent. Pollen can often be identified to at least a family or generic level. Since no other large fossils were found with the mammoth, Veatch applied for and received a grant to study fossil pollen, which was extracted from the sediment and prepared on slides by a Canadian palynology lab.

Veatch is excited to be continuing work on the Florissant mammoth, and hopes to present the findings of this new study at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in 2010.

For more information on Milo the Mammoth, read High elevation Mammuthus from the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado.

-Melissa Barton

The last of the new Visitor Center exhibits at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument have been installed. They include a diagram of a stratigraphic column showing the different types of rocks in the park, touchable samples of rock and fossil wood, and an changing board showcasing currently research at the park and partnership projects like the conservation of the Sexi Petrified Forest in Peru.

These exhibits greatly enhance the park’s ability to educate visitors, and display some of the park’s most spectacular fossil specimens along with hands-on activities for kids. The free Junior Ranger Program is a great complement to the new exhibits.

-Melissa Barton

Related Stories

• Exhibit assembly progress
• Gazette highlights park need for new Visitor Center
• New exhibits featured in Harper’s Ferry Center newsletter
• Friends announce partnership with Peruvian conservation group

Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado (ISBN 9780813724355), a Geological Society of America special paper, is now available from the GSA Bookstore ($42 GSA members, $60 nonmembers).

This 177-page volume, edited by Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument paleontologist Dr. Herbert W. Meyer and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History professor Dr. Dena M. Smith, collects 11 papers on research, resource management, and history at the Fossil Beds.

These papers include, among others a history of the paleontological study of the site; new models for the role of biofilms in fossil preservation; plant-insect associations during the Eocene; a summary of the mammalian fauna; the mineralogical preservation of the fossil woods and conservation strategies for the petrified forest; and the development of a new database to compile a complete inventory of the fossils and their taxonomy.

While aimed at a scientific audience, this volume is a must-have for the library of any serious enthusiast of the Florissant fossils.

University of Colorado at Boulder graduate student Mary Ellen Benson, M.S., gave a talk about her doctoral research at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History (UCM) on February 7.

Benson’s talk, titled “Exceptional Diversity of Late Eocene Freshwater Diatoms from the Florissant Formation, Teller County, Colorado,” summarized some of her work to date on the previously unstudied fossil diatoms of the Florissant Formation.

Diatoms are microscopic, single-celled, golden-brown algae with hard silica shells (frustules). These shells are extremely tiny, only 10-100 microns (1 micron = 1/1000 millimeter). Scientists use the shapes, sizes, and ornamentation of the frustules to identify diatom species. Diatoms can be divided into two major groups according to shape, centric (round) and pennate (elongated).

Although marine diatoms are known as far back as the Jurassic Period (200 million years ago), confirmed reports of freshwater diatoms in North America are much more recent. The diatoms of the Florissant Formation represent one of the earliest occurrences of freshwater diatoms in North America.

Fossil diatoms are most abundant in thin “paper shale” layers within the Florissant Formation, such as those found at the Scudder Pit Interpretive Site. Photo Credit: Melissa Barton

Benson’s research, which is partially funded by visitor fees from the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (formerly Fee Demo Program), is currently focused on identifying the fossil diatoms and comparing the Florissant assemblage to other Eocene assemblages from western North America. Additional funding sources include the Paleontological Society, Walker Van Riper Fund at UCM, Evolving Earth Foundation, Colorado Scientific Society, Colorado Mountain Club, and the Sam Van Landingham Fellowship at the California Academy of Sciences.

In order to examine the diatoms with a light microscope, Benson must break up the matrix of the rock, make a slurry, dry the slurry on cover slips, and then mount the slips on slides. However, many important identifying characteristics cannot be seen without the higher-powered scanning electron microscope (SEM). Taking a good micrograph is difficult and time-consuming.

These SEM micrographs of modern diatoms show the whole frustule of a centric diatom (A), two whole pennate diatom frustules (B), a single valve of a centric diatom (C), and another centric diatom frustule (D). Relatives of some of these diatoms are known from the fossil record. Photo Credit: Mary Ann Tiffany, San Diego State University

The Florissant diatoms are extremely diverse compared to other Eocene sites, Benson has found. Many of the Florissant genera have not been recorded in other Eocene or earlier deposits. Benson hopes to find and describe new species within these genera.

“Although the diatoms are relatively well-preserved, they are not as well-preserved [as the plant and insect fossils of Florissant],” Benson said at the talk, “so their claim to fame will be their diversity, not their preservation.”

Since diatom frustules can dissolve in alkaline water, they are not always preserved in lake deposits, even if diatoms lived in the lake. Diatomaceous sediments can also be replaced by chert if additional silica is introduced after burial.

Florissant presents an exceptional opportunity for scientists like Benson to study the evolutionary history of diatoms and what diatoms can tell us about the ecology and chemistry of ancient lakes.

-Melissa Barton

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Mary Ellen Benson and Dr. Dena M. Smith for assistance in writing this article.

With Deep Roots in Colorado: The Ponderosa Pine

by J.J. Huie

I like running in Colorado when the sound of my breathing is drowned out by a wind so violent it causes the arms of the ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) to thrash about wildly. Hundreds of miles from the Pacific, in the foothills next to Rampart Range near Colorado Springs, I feel like I’m sailing through an ocean storm. In crossing this ocean, however, there is no salty scent or giant, looming swells; instead, I have the waving motion of the ponderosas and the rich aroma they exude.

In Colorado, the ponderosa pine ecosystem can be found at an elevation range of 5,600 feet to 9,000 feet on both sides of the Continental Divide, with ponderosas dominating on sunny, south-facing slopes. Throughout much of the elevation range of the ponderosa, Douglas-firs predominate on the shadier, north-facing slopes. Direct solar radiation is critical to the ponderosa, which germinates best on soils with unobstructed sunlight. Standing close to a mature tree, I enjoy the scent of vanilla that the orange-brown bark gives off as it’s warmed by the sun.

A distinctive feature of ponderosas is their long needles (up to 7 inches in length), which come in bundles of two or three needles. The needles of ponderosas are the longest among conifers in Colorado. Some ponderosas are among the largest trees in the Southern Rockies (the area from southern Wyoming through Colorado to northern New Mexico), growing up to 150 feet in height and more than 3 feet in diameter.

Mature trees usually have rounded crowns, while the oldest trees can have flat-topped crowns, unlike most other conifer species. Mature cones are globe shaped and can be up to 6 inches long; each of the cone’s thick scales is tipped with a sharp bristle.

We normally don’t see one of the most amazing features of the ponderosa: the tree’s extensive root system, an adaptation to frequent drought. Ponderosa pine forests typically receive from about 16 inches of precipitation in New Mexico and south-central Colorado to more than 25 inches in areas of Wyoming. While above average moisture in spring and early summer allows for seedling establishment, seedlings quickly develop a long taproot which helps them survive drought that dries out the topsoil. Mature ponderosas have taproots that can reach depths of up to 40 feet and lateral roots that extend through surface soils as much as 100 feet from the tree. I’ve marveled at how ponderosas stand up against Colorado’s sometimes vicious winds, but with such a wide-spreading root system, it’s difficult for a ponderosa to be shaken at its depths.

Low-intensity fires initiated by lightning during the summer were an important part of the ponderosa pine ecosystem before logging and wildfire suppression. Wildfires kill smaller plants and thin out dense stands of seedlings, decreasing competition for moisture. In addition, fires release nutrients in the litter of needles and twigs on the ground, thereby increasing the fertility of the soil. The thick bark of mature ponderosas provides protection against fires; nonetheless, the reduction in fuel loads that occurs with low-intensity fires is necessary to prevent catastrophic fires which could kill even mature trees. Since the beginning of the 1900s, fire suppression and logging have allowed other conifers to establish themselves in ponderosa forests or caused increased regeneration of ponderosas. The result has been overcrowded forests and smaller, less robust ponderosa pines.

The ponderosa pine’s affinity for sunny, south-facing slopes, extensive root system, and adaptations to the lightning-induced fires that spread more quickly under dry, windy conditions, reveal a high degree of adaptation. The species has even developed defenses against the pine beetle, including a higher concentration of limonene, a chemical toxic to the pine beetle, in ponderosas that survived infestations. Beyond its ability to withstand oftentimes harsh conditions, the ponderosa never ceases to bring pleasure to those who venture into the woods, whether we find a shady place under its sweeping branches, hear the music of its long needles fluttering against a cool breeze, or simply stand close for the scent of vanilla.

Photo Credits: Walter Siegmund (ponderosa needles and cones), Jamie Dwyer/public domain (ponderosa trunk)

The park has received a Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit (CESU) grant, in conjunction with the University of Colorado at Boulder, to update and expand the database project.

Park Paleontologist Dr. Herb Meyer will be presenting an hour-long talk about fossil leaves and paleoelevation at a special session sponsored by the Mineralogical Society of America and The Geochemical Society on Friday, October 26 (the session runs through October 27). An associated Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry volume will also be published. For more information, visit the MSA website.

There will also be three presentations during technical sessions that touch upon Florissant.

THE FRIENDS OF THE FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS: FACILITATING COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS IN INFORMAL GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION OUTREACH, by Steven Wade Veatch, Herbert W. Meyer, and Donald A.K. Miranda.

Friends president Steve Veatch will present about the geoscience education and outreach efforts of the Friends, including the summer seminar series; funding and research support for interns, students, and scientists; and our new partnership with a Peruvian fossil conservation organization similar to the Friends.

THE FATE OF AIRFALL VOLCANIC ASH IN LARGE AND SMALL LACUSTRINE SYSTEMS: ASH STRATINOMY OF THE EOCENE GREEN RIVER AND FLORISSANT FORMATIONS, by Charles Ver Straeten.

Dr. Charles Ver Straeten, who conducted preliminary fieldwork at the park this summer, will present an update on his work studying ash preservation in the Green River and Florissant Formations.

USING TRADITIONAL FIELD METHODS TO HELP STUDENTS IMPROVE OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS AND DEVELOP EVIDENCE-BASED INTERPRETATIONS, by James O. Puckett and Neil H. Suneson.

Other institutions, such as Oklahoma State University, also recognize the value of the Florissant area for geological education:

“The summer field camp experience provides many students with their best opportunity to observe geologic features whose spatial distribution, size, and shape will impact the students’ future careers as geoscientists. Oklahoma State University’s geology field camp near Canon City, Colorado focuses on time-tested traditional methods of geological mapping and field work. [...] The course includes field trips to the Cripple Creek and Leadville mining districts, Florissant/Guffey volcano area, Pikes Peak batholith, and Spanish Peaks radial dike swarm. The field trips emphasize aspects of geology that are not stressed in the field exercises.”

-Melissa Barton