The Vertebrate Paleontology of Cement Creek Cave, Colorado

科罗拉多州水泥溪洞穴的古脊椎动物学

• 批准号: 0819678
• 负责人: Steven Emslie
• 金额: $ 6.52万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-08-01 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0819678&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Vertebrate; Paleontology; Cement; Creek; Cave

THE VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY OF CEMENT CREEK CAVE, COLORADOSteven D. Emslie, David Meltzer, and David WebsterNSF Proposal #0819678In this study, we will complete detailed systematic identification and analysis (radiocarbon, stable isotope) of vertebrate fossils recovered from Cement Creek Cave, an important late Pleistocene locality in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado. Preliminary work at this site in 1998 revealed an extremely rich paleontological record with abundant vertebrate and plant remains dating from before the last Ice Age, over 45,000 years ago, to more recent periods within the past 2000 years. The fossils from this cave are quite significant: no other high-elevation site in North America has produced a near-continuous record of fossil vertebrates that date before and after the last Ice Age (that peaked at about 20,000-18,000 years ago). Analysis of fossil shrews (Sorex spp.) and other taxa recovered in the 1998 excavations, including some species no longer found in Colorado or the Upper Gunnison Basin, indicate there were significant changes in the environment surrounding the cave over time ranging from tundra to subalpine forest to mixed sagebrush steppe environments. However, radiocarbon analyses also reveal there are large gaps in the cave fossil sequence, which seemingly correlate with episodes in glacial history. Whether those gaps are real is uncertain; so too are the questions of how far back the Cement Creek record might extend, and whether a more precise ecological and climatic sequence can be derived from this rich fossil locality. Consequently, in summer 2007 we reopened the area excavated in 1998 and expanded the original 1998 test pit to 1 x 1.5 m and excavated to a depth of 2.2 m in 5-cm levels. These more extensive excavations doubled the depth of the stratigraphic profile in the cave and added thousands more vertebrate fossils to the collections. This expansion also provided a richer assemblage of fossil material for additional analyses proposed here to explore and test hypotheses on climate change and small-mammal community structure and diet in the later Pleistocene and Holocene. Here, the fossils recovered from this new excavation will be sorted and detailed identification will be completed. Analysis of remaining unidentified material from the 1998 excavation also will be completed to provide a more thorough reconstruction of vertebrate communities and environmental change in the Upper Gunnison Basin since the Wisconsin Period. This research will be conducted with the assistance of three undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and one graduate student at Southern Methodist University. These students will be involved in field and laboratory research and will develop independent studies of the cave fossils using the scientific method and hypothesis testing. The students will benefit from advanced research experiences and training, will participate in museum visits for detailed analyses of fossil specimens, and will develop their skills at scientific investigation and writing. Matching funds from SMU will be used to involve the graduate student from that institution in this research and how it applies to the paleoindian record in the Upper Gunnison Basin. Public presentations, a web site, and exhibits of data from this project will advance public understanding on the value and importance of protecting archaeological and paleontological resources. The value of cave resources also will be stressed in these presentations.

科罗拉多州水泥溪洞穴的脊椎动物古生物学史蒂文·D·埃姆斯利 (Steven D. Emslie)、大卫·梅尔泽 (David Meltzer) 和大卫·韦伯斯特 (David Webster) NSF 提案 #0819678 在这项研究中，我们将对从水泥溪洞穴 (Cement Creek Cave) 中回收的脊椎动物化石完成详细的系统鉴定和分析（放射性碳、稳定同位素），这是一个重要的洞穴。更新世晚期，位于科罗拉多州上甘尼森盆地。 1998 年对该遗址进行的初步工作揭示了极其丰富的古生物学记录，其中有丰富的脊椎动物和植物遗骸，其历史可以追溯到 45,000 多年前的最后一个冰河时代之前，一直到过去 2000 年内的更近时期。 这个洞穴中的化石非常重要：北美没有任何其他高海拔地点能够产生近乎连续的脊椎动物化石记录，这些记录可以追溯到最后一个冰河时代（大约在 20,000-18,000 年前达到顶峰）之前和之后。 对 1998 年发掘中发现的鼩鼱化石 (Sorex spp.) 和其他类群（包括科罗拉多州或上甘尼森盆地不再发现的一些物种）的分析表明，随着时间的推移，洞穴周围的环境发生了显着变化，从苔原到亚高山森林到混合鼠尾草草原环境。 然而，放射性碳分析还显示，洞穴化石序列中存在很大的空白，这似乎与冰川历史的事件有关。 这些差距是否真实还不确定。同样的问题还包括水泥溪记录可以追溯到多久以前，以及是否可以从这个丰富的化石产地得出更精确的生态和气候序列。 因此，我们在 2007 年夏天重新开放了 1998 年挖掘的区域，并将 1998 年原来的试验坑扩大到 1 x 1.5 m，并在 5 厘米的水平上挖掘到 2.2 m 的深度。 这些更广泛的挖掘使洞穴中地层剖面的深度增加了一倍，并增加了数千件脊椎动物化石的藏品。 这种扩展还为本文提出的额外分析提供了更丰富的化石材料组合，以探索和检验有关晚更新世和全新世气候变化以及小型哺乳动物群落结构和饮食的假设。 在这里，将对本次新发掘出土的化石进行分类，并完成详细鉴定。 对 1998 年发掘的剩余不明材料的分析也将完成，以便更彻底地重建上甘尼森盆地自威斯康星时期以来的脊椎动物群落和环境变化。 这项研究将在北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校的三名本科生和南卫理公会大学的一名研究生的协助下进行。 这些学生将参与实地和实验室研究，并将利用科学方法和假设检验对洞穴化石进行独立研究。 学生将受益于先进的研究经验和培训，将参加博物馆参观以对化石标本进行详细分析，并培养他们的科学研究和写作技能。 SMU 的配套资金将用于让该机构的研究生参与这项研究，以及如何将其应用于上甘尼森盆地的古印第安记录。 该项目的公开演示、网站和数据展览将增进公众对保护考古和古生物资源的价值和重要性的理解。 这些演讲还将强调洞穴资源的价值。