Functional traits driving species role in the structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger networks

The rediscovery of the original, unedited Latin manuscript of Georg Wilhelm Steller's “De bestiis marinis” (“On marine mammals”), first published in 1751, calls for a new translation into English. The main part of the treatise contains detailed descriptions of four marine mammals, but the introduction is devoted to more general issues, including innovative speculation on morphology, ecology and biogeography, anticipating arguments and concepts of modern biology. Steller noted early that climate and food have a direct influence on body size, pelage and functional traits of mammals, potentially affecting reversible changes (phenotypic plasticity). Feeding and other behavioural habits have an impact on the geographical distribution of mammals. Species with a broad diet tend to have a wide distribution, whereas animals with a narrow diet more likely have only a restricted range. According to Steller, both sea and land then still concealed countless animals unknown to science.

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Derivation of economic values for German dairy breeds by means of a bio-economic model—with special emphasis on functional traits

Journal of Dairy Science ◽

10.3168/jds.2019-17635 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

C. Schmidtmann ◽

G. Thaller ◽

M. Kargo ◽

D. Hinrichs ◽

J. Ettema

Keyword(s):

Functional Traits ◽

Economic Model ◽

Economic Values

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Late Cretaceous stratigraphy and vertebrate faunas of the Markagunt, Paunsaugunt, and Kaiparowits plateaus, southern Utah

Geology of the Intermountain West ◽

10.31711/giw.v3i0.10 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 229-291 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alan L. Titus ◽

Jeffrey G. Eaton ◽

Joseph Sertich

Keyword(s):

Late Cretaceous ◽

Foreland Basin ◽

Alluvial Plain ◽

Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽

The North ◽

Single Region ◽

The World ◽

Kaiparowits Plateau ◽

Fossil Preservation ◽

Fossil Records

The Late Cretaceous succession of southern Utah was deposited in an active foreland basin circa 100 to 70 million years ago. Thick siliciclastic units represent a variety of marine, coastal, and alluvial plain environments, but are dominantly terrestrial, and also highly fossiliferous. Conditions for vertebrate fossil preservation appear to have optimized in alluvial plain settings more distant from the coast, and so in general the locus of good preservation of diverse assemblages shifts eastward through the Late Cretaceous. The Middle and Late Campanian record of the Paunsaugunt and Kaiparowits Plateau regions is especially good, exhibiting common soft tissue preservation, and comparable with that of the contemporaneous Judith River and Belly River Groups to the north. Collectively the Cenomanian through Campanian strata of southern Utah hold one of the most complete single region terrestrial vertebrate fossil records in the world.

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