Papers by Robert S. Feranec
51st Annual Northeastern GSA Section Meeting, 2016
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Geological Society of America eBooks, Nov 14, 2018
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The living tree sloths Choloepus and Bradypus are the only remaining members of Folivora, a major... more The living tree sloths Choloepus and Bradypus are the only remaining members of Folivora, a major xenarthran radiation that occupied a wide range of habitats in many parts of the western hemisphere during the Cenozoic, including both continents and the West Indies. Ancient DNA evidence has played only a minor role in folivoran systematics, as most sloths lived in places not conducive to genomic preservation. Here we utilize collagen sequence information, both separately and in combination with published mitochondrial DNA evidence, to assess the relationships of tree sloths and their extinct relatives. Results from phylogenetic analysis of these datasets differ substantially from morphology-based concepts: Choloepus groups with Mylodontidae, not Megalonychidae; Bradypus and Megalonyx pair together as megatherioids, while monophyletic Antillean sloths may be sister to all other folivorans. Divergence estimates are consistent with fossil evidence for mid-Cenozoic presence of sloths in the West Indies and an early Miocene radiation in South America
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Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 2020
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The Ivory Pond Mastodon (Mammut americanum) was found in South Egremont, Massachusetts, in 1982. ... more The Ivory Pond Mastodon (Mammut americanum) was found in South Egremont, Massachusetts, in 1982. A recent AMS radiocarbon assay on bone collagen yielded an age of 11,885 ± 30 rcbp (UCIAMS 193953), which currently calibrates to 13,580–13,770 cal BP. This date is statistically similar to a much more imprecise date (GX9024-G; 11,440 ± 655 rcbp; 11,500–15,290 cal BP) previously obtained from the specimen. This age is similar to those of other American Mastodon specimens; collectively, these dates imply prior expansion of boreal forest (mastodon habitat) into the region ca. 14,600 cal BP. The location of this specimen east of the Hudson River implies that Late Glacial proglacial lakes that occupied the Hudson River Valley in the past were not a hindrance to megafaunal colonization of New England. The chronology and depositional contexts of this and other mastodon specimens in the region necessitate that human predation be considered as a possible cause of the extinction of this and other...
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Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2017
Background: C4 grasses were not abundant in North America during the middle Miocene (c. 15 Ma). T... more Background: C4 grasses were not abundant in North America during the middle Miocene (c. 15 Ma). They did not become abundant until around 7 Ma. One can analyse stable carbon (δC) and oxygen (δO) isotope values in the enamel of fossil horse teeth to determine the extent to which horses were eating C4 grasses even during the period before those grasses became abundant. Questions: In southern California, what proportion of a middle Miocene horse’s diet was made up of C4 grasses? Was the amount enough to influence the size and shape of horse teeth? Organisms: Eighty-five specimens of five fossil horse species – Acritohippus stylodontus, Archaeohippus mourningi, Merychippus californicus, Scaphohippus intermontanus, and Scaphohippus sumani – from the middle Miocene (c. 16 Ma) of southern California (i.e. Barstow Formation, Cajon Valley Formation, and Temblor Formation). Methods: To determine if C4 grasses were present in middle Miocene horse diets, we analysed stable carbon (δC) and oxyge...
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Where the Land Meets the Sea, 2017
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PeerJ, 2020
Domestic cats preying on wildlife is a frequent conservation concern but typical approaches for a... more Domestic cats preying on wildlife is a frequent conservation concern but typical approaches for assessing impacts rely on owner reports of prey returned home, which can be biased by inaccurate reporting or by cats consuming prey instead of bringing it home. Isotopes offer an alternative way to quantify broad differences in animal diets. By obtaining samples of pet food from cat owners we predicted that we would have high power to identify cats feeding on wild birds or mammals, given that pet food is thought to have higher C isotope values, due to the pervasive use of corn and/or corn by-products as food ingredients, than native prey. We worked with citizen scientists to quantify the isotopes of 202 cat hair samples and 239 pet food samples from the US and UK. We also characterized the isotopes of 11 likely native prey species from the southeastern US and used mixing models to assess the diet of 47 cats from the same region. Variation in C and N isotope values for cat food was very h...
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
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Radiocarbon, 2018
ABSTRACTExcavations at several locations in Verteba Cave have uncovered a large amount of human s... more ABSTRACTExcavations at several locations in Verteba Cave have uncovered a large amount of human skeletal remains in association with faunal bones and Tripolye material culture. We aim to establish radiocarbon (14C) dates for eight sites and to evaluate whether these deposits are singular events, or slow accumulations over time.14C measurements, along with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from human and faunal remains, were collected from 18 specimens. Stable isotope values were used to evaluate human and animal diet, and whether freshwater reservoir effects offset measured dates. We found diets of the sampled species had limited to no influence from freshwater resources. Human diet appears to be dominated by terrestrial plants and herbivores. Four new sites were identified as Eneolithic. Comparisons of dates from top and bottom strata for two sites (7 and 20) reveal coeval dates, and we suggest that these deposits represent discrete events rather than slow continuous use. Las...
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Radiocarbon, 2009
New dates obtained from the bone collagen of mammals from the deposits in Potter Creek Cave, Shas... more New dates obtained from the bone collagen of mammals from the deposits in Potter Creek Cave, Shasta County, California, USA, show that these fossils were emplaced over the last 30,000 yr. The dates support the assignment of the fauna in the cave to the late Pleistocene and are contemporaneous to the dates obtained from the fauna of Samwel Cave located 5 km to the north. These new dates do not support previous radiocarbon dates suggesting a Holocene extinction of the extinct bovid Euceratherium collinum, and demonstrate that this and other megafauna were not present in the vicinity after the terminal Pleistocene.
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J Biogeogr, 2008
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PloS one, 2015
Laser ablation of tooth enamel was used to analyze stable carbon isotope compositions of teeth of... more Laser ablation of tooth enamel was used to analyze stable carbon isotope compositions of teeth of hominins, red deer, and bears from middle Pleistocene sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain, to investigate the possibility that this technique could be used as an additional tool to identify periods of physiological change that are not detectable as changes in tooth morphology. Most of the specimens were found to have minimal intra-tooth variation in carbon isotopes (< 2.3‰), suggesting isotopically uniform diets through time and revealing no obvious periods of physiological change. However, one of the two sampled hominin teeth displayed a temporal carbon isotope shift (3.2‰) that was significantly greater than observed for co-occurring specimens. The δ13C value of this individual averaged about -16‰ early in life, and -13‰ later in life. This isotopic change occurred on the canine crown about 4.2 mm from the root, which corresponds to an approximate age of two to four ...
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2010
Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mammalian carnivoran and herbivore species from the ... more Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mammalian carnivoran and herbivore species from the late Pleistocene Valdegoba cave site in northern Spain imply competition and partitioning in resource use. In general, the data support the previously recognized ecology for the analyzed species. δ13C values show that the ecosystem around the cave was dominated by C3 plants. The observed δ18O values are similar to what is found in modern environments. The analyzed bovids, Bos primigenius, Capra pyrenaica, and ...
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Paleobiology, 2014
Within ancient ecosystems, it is generally difficult to determine the specific diets of species f... more Within ancient ecosystems, it is generally difficult to determine the specific diets of species from higher trophic levels, which in turn hinders our understanding of trophic relationships and energy flow through these systems. To better understand the ecology of taxa at higher trophic levels, we used analysis of tooth enamel stable carbon isotope values to infer the dietary preferences of Canis edwardii and Smilodon gracilis from the Leisey Shell Pit 1A (LSP 1A) and Inglis 1A, two Pleistocene localities in Florida. The goals of the analyses were to (1) determine whether these carnivorans specialized in particular prey types or maintained a generalist diet; (2) ascertain whether carbon isotope values support what was previously suggested about the ecology of these species; and (3) establish what ecological details of ancient food webs can be discovered by carbon isotope analyses at higher trophic levels. Results show that the sampled carnivoran carbon isotope values are distributed ...
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Paleobiology, 2003
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Paleobiology, 2006
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2004
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2007
Resource use and niche partitioning has rarely been shown in ancient C3-dominated environments th... more Resource use and niche partitioning has rarely been shown in ancient C3-dominated environments through analysis of stable isotope values, even though before 7 million years ago worldwide environments were predominantly composed of C3 plant taxa. This study explores whether the analysis of stable carbon isotopes from ungulate tissues can accurately identify resource use and niche partitioning in a modern C3-dominated ecosystem in North America, in order to lay the groundwork for application to more ancient ...
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Papers by Robert S. Feranec