High in the Colorado Rockies, scientists launch search for causes of western water woes

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Colorado Rockies

Taxonomic overview and tusk growth analyses of Ziegler Reservoir proboscideans

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Fisher ◽  
Michael D. Cherney ◽  
Cody Newton ◽  
Adam N. Rountrey ◽  
Zachary T. Calamari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Elevation ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene ◽  
Fossil Site ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Colorado Rockies ◽  
Mammut Americanum ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Mis 5

AbstractAt an altitude of 2705 m in the Colorado Rockies (USA), the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site gives a rare look at a high-elevation ecosystem from the late Pleistocene (especially MIS 5) of North America. Remains of more than four mammoths and about 35 mastodons dominate the macrofossil assemblage. Mammoth remains are attributed to Mammuthus columbi, and mastodon remains are referred to the well-known, continent-wide Mammut americanum. Mastodon remains occur within and between several lake-margin slump deposits. Their deposition must therefore have occurred as events that were to some degree separate in time. We treat the mastodon assemblage in each stratigraphic unit as a source of information on environmental conditions during the lives of these individuals. Mastodon mandibular tusks are abundant at the site and represent both males and females, from calves to full-grown adults. This study presents the first attempt to use microCT, thin-section, and isotope records from mandibular tusks to reconstruct features of life-history. We recognize an up-section trend in δ18O profiles toward higher values, suggestive of warmer temperatures. Throughout this sequence, mastodon growth histories show low mean sensitivities suggestive of low levels of environmental stress. This work helps frame expectations for assessing environmental pressures on terminal Pleistocene populations.

scholarly journals The high-altitude research of Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald, 1911–13

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-99
Author(s):  
Martin Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Alveolar Air ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Mining Communities ◽  
Colorado Rockies ◽  
Home Schooled

Home schooled without a science education, Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald (1872–1973) attended physiology lectures at Oxford in 1897, even though the school was closed to women. She found work as a researcher, published early noted papers and earned the active respect and support of senior scientists of her day. Her laboratory work with the physiologist J. S. Haldane saw her invited to the join the Pikes Peak Expedition in 1911. While the male team members measured the physiological effects of long-term residency at 14 101 feet, as the sole woman FitzGerald took measurements of haemoglobin and alveolar air from herself and from mining staff and families at altitudes from 6000 to 12 500 feet, travelling to remote mining communities in the Colorado Rockies. A subsequent expedition collected data at lower altitudes. Recorded in two papers, the results presented pioneering evidence of the role of oxygen in breathing.

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