Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:32:37.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sampling and Sample Size in Ecological Analyses of Fossil Mammals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

Ronald G. Wolff
Ronald G. Wolff*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Analysis of several thousand mammalian fossils from late Pleistocene sediments in California provide data on sampling in mammalian paleoecology. Recovery of bones and teeth from the screenwashed bulk sediment sample residue is considered nearly total. Neither surface collecting alone, nor small bulk samples provide satisfactory quantitative data on original community structure or postmortem alterations in community organization. Minimum sample size for the analysis of diversity is discussed. Diversity and size-trophic ratios of the total identifiable mammalian component of this fauna (N = 1222) are similar to those expected in living communities, and therefore suggest adequate sampling, and minimally biased samples.

Type
Research Article
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , Spring 1975 , pp. 195 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Adamson, G. A. G. 1964. Observations on lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanganyika. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 2:160–161.Google Scholar
Brant, D. H. 1962. Measures of the movements and population densities of small rodents. Univ. California Publ. Zool., Berkeley 62:105–183.Google Scholar
Clark, F. W. 1972. Influence of jackrabbit density on coyote population change. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 36:343–356.Google Scholar
Clark, J., Beerbower, J. R., and Kietzke, K. K. 1967. Oligocene sedimentation, stratigraphy, paleoecology, and paleoclimatology. Fieldiana: Geology Memoirs. 5:1–158.Google Scholar
Clark, J., and Guensburg, T. E. 1970. Population dynamics of Leptomeryx. Fieldiana Geol. 16:411–451.Google Scholar
Cole, G. F. 1972. Grizzly bear-elk relationships in Yellowstone National Park. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 36:556–561.Google Scholar
Constan, K. J. 1972. Winter foods and range use of three species of ungulates. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 36:1068–1076.Google Scholar
Deevey, E. S. Jr. 1969. Specific diversity in fossil assemblages. In, Woodwell, G. M., and Smith, H. H., eds., Diversity and Stability in Ecological Systems. Brookhaven Symposia in Biology. 22:224–241.Google Scholar
De Graaff, G. 1961. A preliminary investigation of the mammalian microfauna in Pleistocene deposits of caves in the Transvaal system. Palaeontologia Africana. 7:59–118.Google Scholar
Dodson, P. 1971. Sedimentology and taphonomy of the Oldman Formation (Campanian), Dinosaur Provinical Park, Alberta (Canada). Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclim., Palaeoecolo. 10:21–74.Google Scholar
Dodson, P. 1973. The significance of small bones in paleoecological interpretation. Univ. Wyoming Contr. to Geol. 12:15–19.Google Scholar
Efremov, J. A. 1940. Taphonomy: new branch of paleontology. Pan-American Geologist. 64:81–93.Google Scholar
Estes, R., and Berberian, P. 1970. Paleoecology of a late Cretaceous vertebrate community from Montana. Breviora. 343:35 pp.Google Scholar
Goddard, J. 1969. Aerial census of black rhinoceros using stratified random sampling. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 7:105–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthrie, R. D. 1967. Differential preservation and recovery of Pleistocene large mammal remains in Alaska. J. Paleontology. 41:243–246.Google Scholar
Guthrie, R. D. 1968a. Paleoecology of the large-mammal community in interior Alaska during the late Pleistocene. Amer. Midl. Nat. 79:347–363.Google Scholar
Guthrie, R. D. 1968b. Paleoecology of a late Pleistocene small mammal community from interior Alaska. Arctic 21:223–244.Google Scholar
Hibbard, C. W. 1949. Techniques of collecting microvertebrate fossils. Univ. Michigan Mus. Paleont. Contr. 8:7–19.Google Scholar
Hodgman, C. D., ed. 1959. C. R. C. Standard mathematical tables. Chemical Rubber Publishing Company. 12th ed.525 pages.Google Scholar
Howard, W. E., and Childs, H. E. Jr. 1959. Ecology of pocket gophers with emphasis on Thomomys bottae mewa. Hilgardia. 29:277–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingles, L. G. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific States. Stanford Univ. Press; Stanford, California. 506 pp.Google Scholar
Krebs, C. J. 1966. Demographic changes in fluctuating populations of Microtus californicus. Ecol. Monogr. 36:239–273.Google Scholar
Lamprey, H. F. 1964. Estimation of the large mammal densities, biomass and energy exchange in the Tarangire Game Reserve and the Masai Steppe in Tanganyika. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 2:1–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenna, M. C. 1962. Collecting small fossils by washing and screening. Curator. 5:221–235.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, R. T. 1970. Nairobi National Park census, 1968. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 8:203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Makacha, S., and Schaller, G. B. 1969. Observations on lions in the Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 7:99–103.Google Scholar
Mohr, C. O. 1940. Comparative populations of game, fur and other mammals. Amer. Midl. Nat. 24:581–584.Google Scholar
Nellis, C. H., Wetmore, S. P., and Keith, L. B. 1972. Lynx-prey interactions in central Alberta. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 36:320–328.Google Scholar
Odum, E. P. 1971. Fundamentals of ecology. 3rd. ed.W. B. Saunders Co.; Philadelphia. 574 pp.Google Scholar
Pearson, O. P. 1971. Additional measurements of the impact of carnivores on California voles (Microtus californicus). J. Mamm. 52:41–49.Google Scholar
Raup, D. M. 1972. Taxonomic diversity during the Phanerozoic. Science. 177:1065–1071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, H. G. 1958. The ecology of the Merriam kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami Mearns) on the grazing lands of southern Arizona. Ecol. Monogr. 28:111–127.Google Scholar
Rusch, D. H., Meslow, E. C., Doerr, P. D., and Keith, L. B. 1972. Responses of great horned owl populations to changing prey densities. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 36:282–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, H. L. 1968. Marine benthic diversity: a comparative study. Am. Naturalist. 102:243–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaller, G. B. 1972. The Serengeti lion. A study of predator-prey relations. Univ. Chicago Press. 408 pp.Google Scholar
Shelford, V. E. 1963. The ecology of North America. Univ. Illinois Press; Urbana. 610 pp.Google Scholar
Shotwell, J. A. 1955. An approach to the paleoecology of mammals. Ecology. 36:327–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shotwell, J. A. 1956. Hemphillian mammalian assemblage from northeastern Oregon. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 67:717–738.Google Scholar
Shotwell, J. A. 1958. Inter-community relationships in Hemphillian (Mid-Pliocene) mammals. Ecology. 39:271–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shotwell, J. A., Bowen, R. G., Gray, W. L., Gregory, D. C., Russell, D. E., and Taylor, D. 1963. The Juntura Basin: studies in earth history and paleoecology. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. NS 53:1–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storer, T. I., Evans, F. C., and Palmer, F. G. 1941. Some rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ecol. Monogr. 14:165–192.Google Scholar
Turner, M., and Watson, M. 1964. A census of game in Ngorongoro Crater. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 2:165–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vesey-FitzGerald, D. F. 1969. Utilization of the habitat by buffalo in Lake Manyara National Park. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 7:131–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voorhies, M. R. 1969a. Taphonomy and population dynamics of an early Pliocene vertebrate fauna, Knox County, Nebraska. Univ. Wyoming Contr. to Geol. Spec. Pap. 1:69 pp.Google Scholar
Voorhies, M. R. 1969b. Sampling difficulties in reconstructing late Tertiary mammalian communities. Proc. North American Paleontological Convention:454–468.Google Scholar
Watson, R. M., Graham, A. D., and Parker, I. S. C. 1969. A census of the large mammals of Loliondo Controlled Area, northern Tanzania. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 7:43–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, R. M., and Turner, M. I. M. 1965. A count of the large mammals of the Lake Manyara National Park: results and discussion. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 3:95–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolff, R. G. 1971. Paleoecology of a late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate fauna from Rodeo, California. Ph. D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. 136 pp., unpublished.Google Scholar
Wolff, R. G. 1973. Hydrodynamic sorting and ecology of a Pleistocene mammalian assemblage from California (USA). Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 13:91–102.Google Scholar
Woodwell, G. M., and Smith, H. H., eds. 1969. Diversity and stability in ecological systems. Brookhaven Symposia in Biology. 22:1–264.Google Scholar