Papers by Catherine Badgley
Mammalian faunal change of the Miocene Dove Spring Formation, Mojave region, southern California, USA, in relation to tectonic history
GSA Bulletin, 2023
Tectonic processes drive the evolution of basins through local and regional changes in topographi... more Tectonic processes drive the evolution of basins through local and regional changes in topographic relief, which have long-term effects on mammalian richness and distribution. Mammals respond to the resulting changes in landscape and climate through evolution, shifts in geographic range, and by altering their community composition. Here, we evaluate the relationship between tectonic episodes and the diversification history of fossil mammals in the Miocene Dove Spring Formation (12.5−8.5 Ma) of southern California, USA. This formation contains a rich fossil record of mammals and other vertebrates as well as structural and sedimentological evidence for tectonic episodes of basin extension, rotation, and translation.
We used several methods to compare the fossil record to the tectonic history of the Dove Spring Formation. We updated the formation’s geochronology to incorporate current radiometric dating standards and measured additional stratigraphic sections to refine the temporal resolution of large mammal (>1 kg) fossil localities to 200-kyr (or shorter) intervals. Observed species richness over time follows the same trend as the number of localities and specimens, suggesting that richness reflects sampling intensity. Estimates of stratigraphic ranges with 80% confidence intervals were used to conduct per capita diversification analysis and a likelihood approach to changes in faunal composition from one time interval to the next. While edge effects influence time bins at the beginning and end of the study interval, we found changes in diversification rates and faunal composition that are not solely linked to preservation. Several rare species appear at 10.5 Ma and persist through the top of the formation despite variable preservation rates. Changes in faunal composition at 12.1 Ma and 10.5 Ma are not associated with elevated preservation rates, which indicates that some faunal changes are not primarily driven by sampling effort. The lower portion of the formation is characterized by high origination rates and long residence times. The upper portion has high per capita extinction rates that increased in magnitude as basin rotation and translation progressed from 10.5 Ma. The greatest change in faunal composition coincided with basin rotation and translation that interrupted a long-running extensional period. Tectonics played key roles in the diversity of mammals by determining fossil productivity and shaping the landscapes that they inhabited.
Special publication, 1992
Frontiers in sustainable food systems, Jul 23, 2018
The current global food system is inadequate to meet the needs of the current world population wi... more The current global food system is inadequate to meet the needs of the current world population without compromising future well-being. For example, current intensified production systems lead to undernutrition in some regions coupled with epidemics of obesity in others while compromising their underlying ecological foundations, such as creating areas of ocean hypoxia. Such common observations challenge the research community to ask new types of basic questions and apply novel analytical frameworks for analyzing them. Elaboration of an integrated applied research agenda is imperative to addressing these global food system challenges. We propose that core competencies of a new analytical framework lie at the intersection of four domains: (1) the ecology of agroecosystems; (2) equity in global and local food systems; (3) cultural dimensions of food and agriculture; and (4) human health. This intersection constitutes a new analytical framework for transitions toward global food system sustainability.
PLOS ONE
Modern death assemblages provide insights about the early stages of fossilization and useful ecol... more Modern death assemblages provide insights about the early stages of fossilization and useful ecological information about the species inhabiting the ecosystem. We present the results of taphonomic monitoring of modern vertebrate carcasses and bones from Doñana National Park, a Mediterranean coastal ecosystem in Andalusia, Spain. Ten different habitats were surveyed. Half of them occur in active depositional environments (marshland, lake margin, river margin, beach and dunes). Most of the skeletal remains belong to land mammals larger than 5 kg in body weight (mainly wild and feral ungulates). Overall, the Doñana bone assemblage shows good preservation with little damage to the bones, partly as a consequence of the low predator pressure on large vertebrates. Assemblages from active depositional habitats differ significantly from other habitats in terms of the higher incidence of breakage and chewing marks on bones in the latter, which result from scavenging, mainly by wild boar and r...
The Paleontological Society Special Publications, 1992
The Paleogene of Wyoming and Montana and the Neogene Siwaliks of Pakistan contain deposits repres... more The Paleogene of Wyoming and Montana and the Neogene Siwaliks of Pakistan contain deposits representing a wide variety of terrestrial environments. Although fossils are preserved in all of these environments, fossil vertebrates are abundant in only certain facies. These principal preservational environments vary within and, particularly, between formations in each region.The Bighorn and Crazy Mountain basins of Wyoming and Montana contain abundant remains of Paleocene and Eocene vertebrates. Over 1800 localities in this region have been established in the Paleocene Fort Union and Paleocene to Eocene Willwood formations. The distribution of vertebrate remains changes dramatically upsection in this sequence. The Fort Union consists of thick fluvial sandstones and minor swampy floodplain mudstones in the lower part, and more widely separated channel sandstones interbedded with better drained floodplain deposits that include paleosol horizons in the upper part. These changes reflect a l...
Paleobiology, 2016
Carnivore-rich fossil sites are uncommon in the fossil record and, accordingly, provide valuable ... more Carnivore-rich fossil sites are uncommon in the fossil record and, accordingly, provide valuable opportunities to study predators from vantages that are rarely applied to ancient faunas. Through stable isotopes of carbon and a Bayesian mixing model, we analyze time-successive (nearly contemporaneous), late Miocene carnivoran populations from two fossil sites (Batallones-1 and Batallones-3) from central Spain. Stable isotopes of carbon in tooth enamel provide a reliable and direct methodology to track ancient diets. These two carnivoran-dominated fossil sites display differences in the composition and abundance of the carnivoran species, with some species present at both sites and some present only at one site. This disparity has been interpreted as the consequence of habitat differences between Batallones-1, the older site, and Batallones-3, the younger site. However, carbon isotope values of carnivore and herbivore tooth enamel suggest a common habitat of C3 woodland originally pre...
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1988
Faunal turnovers in the fossil record are episodes of synchronous appearance and disappearance of... more Faunal turnovers in the fossil record are episodes of synchronous appearance and disappearance of species from a community, often resulting in net change in species richness. We studied the biostratigraphic record of faunal turnover involving early Wasatchian (early Eocene) mammals from the Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming, U.S.A. Two faunal turnovers occur in this record-one at the base of the Wasatchian, comprised mainly of appearances of taxonomically and ecologically distinctive species, and a later one, Biohorizon A of Schankler (1980), comprised mainly of disappearances, especially of carnivorous species. This study focuses on Biohorizon A. In the record of the Clark's Fork Basin, Biohorizon A may be an artifact of sampling. Sample size and species richness are highly correlated (r = 0.95) throughout this record. Moreover, sample size and species richness fluctuate markedly between successive stratigraphic intervals; peaks of appearances coincide with large sample sizes and peaks of disappearances with low sample sizes. The peaks and valleys in fossil productivity over time mask the real timing of appearances and disappearances of species. Changes in fossil productivity in the stratigraphic section may result from changes in exposure area, taphonomic factors, or ecological factors. Evaluation of the effects of sampling is a necessary prerequisite for investigating the chronological and ecological significance of faunal turnovers.
Use of anisotropy to determine the origin of characteristic remanence in the Siwalik red beds of northern Pakistan
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 1990
It is often difficult or impossible to determine the origin of the characteristic remanent magnet... more It is often difficult or impossible to determine the origin of the characteristic remanent magnetization of red beds from the bulk remanence alone. However, anisotropy of remanence or susceptibility is strongly controlled by the statistical alignment of hematite grains; this in turn may reflect the development of the magnetic fabric of the sediment over time, so the shape of the anisotropy ellipsoid may provide clues to the origin of remanence. In this work, we make a study of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in Siwalik red beds of Miocene age from northern Pakistan. Comparison of the results with detailed petrographic studies and other information suggests that advanced soil development leads to the destruction of primary fabrics and often with it, a coherent magnetization. Furthermore, it should be possible to use AMS fabric information to quantify the degree of pedogenesis in these Miocene soils. We attempted to determine the anisotropy of isothermal remanence (AIR...
Mammifères, taille et climat:Les faunes “locales” de mammifères sont-elles au plan de la taille une collection d'espèces prises au hasard dans l'intervalle souris-éléphant ou sont-elles des communautés structurées par le milieu?
Geobios, 1997
Characteristic plant assemblages of rock outcrops were recorded in Northern Western Chats and Kon... more Characteristic plant assemblages of rock outcrops were recorded in Northern Western Chats and Konkan region of Maharashtra. Twenty-one endemic species were restricted in distribution to specific rocky habitats. The vegetation has close phytogeographic affinities with natural herbaceous vegetation on granitic rock outcrops and ferricretes in Africa.
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2009
Sparing land for nature: exploring the potential impact of changes in agricultural yield on the a... more Sparing land for nature: exploring the potential impact of changes in agricultural yield on the area needed for crop production. Glob Change Biol 1 11 1: 1594-1605. 183 © The Ecological Society of America w ww ww w. .f fr ro on nt ti ie er rs si in ne ec co ol lo og gy y. .o or rg g Write Back *
Trends in ecology & evolution, Mar 1, 2017
Topographically complex regions on land and in the oceans feature hotspots of biodiversity that r... more Topographically complex regions on land and in the oceans feature hotspots of biodiversity that reflect geological influences on ecological and evolutionary processes. Over geologic time, topographic diversity gradients wax and wane over millions of years, tracking tectonic or climatic history. Topographic diversity gradients from the present day and the past can result from the generation of species by vicariance or from the accumulation of species from dispersal into a region with strong environmental gradients. Biological and geological approaches must be integrated to test alternative models of diversification along topographic gradients. Reciprocal illumination among phylogenetic, phylogeographic, ecological, paleontological, tectonic, and climatic perspectives is an emerging frontier of biogeographic research.
Critical Issues of Scale in Paleoecology
Palaios, 2009
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 1995
Trophic structure and composition are examined in two important biotic records, one the Paleogene... more Trophic structure and composition are examined in two important biotic records, one the Paleogene of Wyoming and Montana, and the other from the Neogene of Pakistan. The Paleogene sequence spans approximately 10 million years and encompasses four North American Land Mammal Ages (Torrejonian, Tiffanian, Clarkforkian, and Wasatchian). The Neogene sequence spans approximately 17 m.y. and includes most of the Miocene
Palaios, 2009
In mid-September 2007, 32 paleontologists gathered at the Smithsonian Institution to spend four d... more In mid-September 2007, 32 paleontologists gathered at the Smithsonian Institution to spend four days discussing research frontiers in paleoecology, particularly at the interface with neoecology. They represented expertise throughout the Phanerozoic and in all major groups of fossilizable organisms. This meeting was timely, given the increasing evidence of the impact of climate change on ecosystems in our modern world. The vast repository of paleoecological data on past environmental change and concomitant ecological responses, observed at many different spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales, is of potentially great value for understanding and predicting how modern ecosystems will respond to climate change. Of particular interest to the participants of this meeting were questions of how ecological data collected at different scales could be reconciled so that our knowledge of ecological change in the past can better inform our understanding of the present and our predictions of how ecosystems will change in the future. Certainly, this is one of the most exciting research frontiers in paleoecology.
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 1995
Contributions to this special issue have compared the tectonic settings, fluvial systems, paleocl... more Contributions to this special issue have compared the tectonic settings, fluvial systems, paleoclimates, paleofloras and faunas, vertebrate taphonomy, and mammalian paleoecology and evolution from two long, continental records of Cenozoic ecosystems. In this concluding paper, we summarize highlights of earlier papers to provide an overview of similarities and differences between these Paleogene and Neogene records.The relative influences of tectonic, climatic,
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 1995
The early Paleogene continental sequence of northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana (USA) ... more The early Paleogene continental sequence of northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana (USA) and the Neogene Siwalik sequence of northern Pakistan are exceptionally long, fossiliferous, and well studied in terms of geology, paleontology, mammalian evolution, paleoecology, and paleoclimatology. Each record spans about 15 myr of alluvial deposition in a foreland basin. The fluvial systems differed in size, drainage of floodplains,
Can organic agriculture feed the world?
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2007
... Note: Catherine Badgley and Ivette Perfecto have not had an opportunity to respond to the fol... more ... Note: Catherine Badgley and Ivette Perfecto have not had an opportunity to respond to the following comments by Kenneth Cassman and Jim Hendrix ... However, these views are being challenged by three global mega-trends: (1) a steady decrease in arable land area suitable for ...
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1995
Tropl~ic structure and composition are examined in two impo; tmt biotic records, one the Paleogen... more Tropl~ic structure and composition are examined in two impo; tmt biotic records, one the Paleogene of Wyanirlg and Mo7:ltana. and the other from the Neogene of Pakistan. The Paleogene sequence spans approximately 10 million years and encompasses four North American Land Manmal Ages (Torrejonian. TifTanian, Clarkt'orkian. and Wasatchian). The Neogene sequence spans approximately 17 my. and includes most of the Miocene and Pliocene with the best documented interval spanning from 16 to 7 Ma. Five'basic trophic categories (primary consun~ers: herbivores, frugivores, omnivores: secondary consumers: insectivores, carnivores) arc recognized for Paleogenc and Neogene n~amnals based on tooth morphology, body size. and mulogy with n~odcrn manmalian groups. The Paleogene nmmalim biota is characterized as one in M hicli both trophic structure and taxonoinic composition cliallge through the history of the record. The Neogcne munnialian biola maintains a relativfaiy consistenl trophic structure tllrougli 1rm1 o1' the record, ahhough taxonomic composition changes substantialty tl-rrougl~ time.
Long records of continental ecosystems: Paleogene of Wyo.-Mont. a. Neogene of pakistan
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Papers by Catherine Badgley
We used several methods to compare the fossil record to the tectonic history of the Dove Spring Formation. We updated the formation’s geochronology to incorporate current radiometric dating standards and measured additional stratigraphic sections to refine the temporal resolution of large mammal (>1 kg) fossil localities to 200-kyr (or shorter) intervals. Observed species richness over time follows the same trend as the number of localities and specimens, suggesting that richness reflects sampling intensity. Estimates of stratigraphic ranges with 80% confidence intervals were used to conduct per capita diversification analysis and a likelihood approach to changes in faunal composition from one time interval to the next. While edge effects influence time bins at the beginning and end of the study interval, we found changes in diversification rates and faunal composition that are not solely linked to preservation. Several rare species appear at 10.5 Ma and persist through the top of the formation despite variable preservation rates. Changes in faunal composition at 12.1 Ma and 10.5 Ma are not associated with elevated preservation rates, which indicates that some faunal changes are not primarily driven by sampling effort. The lower portion of the formation is characterized by high origination rates and long residence times. The upper portion has high per capita extinction rates that increased in magnitude as basin rotation and translation progressed from 10.5 Ma. The greatest change in faunal composition coincided with basin rotation and translation that interrupted a long-running extensional period. Tectonics played key roles in the diversity of mammals by determining fossil productivity and shaping the landscapes that they inhabited.
We used several methods to compare the fossil record to the tectonic history of the Dove Spring Formation. We updated the formation’s geochronology to incorporate current radiometric dating standards and measured additional stratigraphic sections to refine the temporal resolution of large mammal (>1 kg) fossil localities to 200-kyr (or shorter) intervals. Observed species richness over time follows the same trend as the number of localities and specimens, suggesting that richness reflects sampling intensity. Estimates of stratigraphic ranges with 80% confidence intervals were used to conduct per capita diversification analysis and a likelihood approach to changes in faunal composition from one time interval to the next. While edge effects influence time bins at the beginning and end of the study interval, we found changes in diversification rates and faunal composition that are not solely linked to preservation. Several rare species appear at 10.5 Ma and persist through the top of the formation despite variable preservation rates. Changes in faunal composition at 12.1 Ma and 10.5 Ma are not associated with elevated preservation rates, which indicates that some faunal changes are not primarily driven by sampling effort. The lower portion of the formation is characterized by high origination rates and long residence times. The upper portion has high per capita extinction rates that increased in magnitude as basin rotation and translation progressed from 10.5 Ma. The greatest change in faunal composition coincided with basin rotation and translation that interrupted a long-running extensional period. Tectonics played key roles in the diversity of mammals by determining fossil productivity and shaping the landscapes that they inhabited.