Thank you for sharing out so much interesting and perceptive information on this blog! How about we review and express our appreciation for the insights, knowledge and references shared with one another over the past seven weeks?
So this week please review the blog comments of your classmates from previous weeks and then pick two (from different weeks and by different classmates) that you found especially fun and/or intriguing and/or revelatory to read. You may have many more than two so the ones you pick won't be indicative of being "best" in any way but just in line for some of your good feedback! Please be sure to choose at least one of your picks to be by someone not yet acknowledged (if possible) so we spread the thanks to all contributors.
Identify the author (your classmate) and the posting topic in each case and share out what you enjoyed about that posting. I know there has been a good amount of work in this course and we haven't all had a chance to catch up on the contributions of one another here, so this is a chance to look back at them!
Thanks. Dr. B.
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19 comments:
I enjoyed this site linked to by Kim H from our first blog. It really makes me think about the magnitude of finding fossils on Mars (or any other planet). What if Mars is currently in a state post-mass extinction akin to Earth's 65 million years ago? Food for thought.
I also wanted to piggyback on Ian's imaginary expedition for the Loch Ness Monster's cousin, Dearcmhara, to divert the attention to the bones and trace fossils that weren't discovered until the last thirty years. Much of the area around the Isle of Skye in the west highlands contains many different types of these fossils. If you every do take an expedition to Scotland, be sure to explore The Cuillin and Staffin Bay.
I really enjoyed a post from our first weekly Blog, finding fresh news on dinosaurs. Deanna posted a link to a great video about the Dreadnoughtus concerning new discoveries and their immense size. These are some of my favorite dinosaurs, the really big guys. I also enjoyed Kory VanDyke’s post from week 3, when we posted about our international adventures discovering dinosaurs. Her thorough and entertaining retelling of the fictional expedition and its unexpected outcome was a great reminder of how hard scientists have to work sometimes to uncover the truth. It was also just a well written and fun piece to read.
Rose during week 6 posted this super-cute little blog that I found to be quite amusing. It was lighthearted but still carried some important facts as well.
http://saddinosaurfacts.tumblr.com/
During Week 3 Christopfer posted a really great documentary (docu-drama) of his imaginary trip to South Germany (16 whole days!) in search of some dino bones. Not only was the story cool and informative, it was very funny and entertaining which makes for great reading. I especially loved the character “Hans” who was supposed to be the guide but seemed to cause more problems than help ultimately leading to his own demise on day 9.
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/10/stunningly_intact_dinosaur_fos.html
Shannon Meyer's blog from week 6 had a link to newviewsonoldbones.blogspot.co.uk I really enjoyed reading the site because it presented two sides to the thoughts on fossil trading. There are not enough paleontologists to collect all fossils before they erode and not all fossil traders are unscrupulous.
Jenn T's blog from week 1 had a link to www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211142612.htm which provided information on the genome research done on chickens and turkeys. I've always found genetics to be fascinating and to think of a chicken whose chromosome pattern is most similar to dinosaur ancestors is wild. Just think if we had a genetic reversal, there'd be a KFC retaliation.
Shannon Meyer's blog from week 6 had a link to newviewsonoldbones.blogspot.co.uk I really enjoyed reading the site because it presented two sides to the thoughts on fossil trading. There are not enough paleontologists to collect all fossils before they erode and not all fossil traders are unscrupulous.
Jenn T's blog from week 1 had a link to www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211142612.htm which provided information on the genome research done on chickens and turkeys. I've always found genetics to be fascinating and to think of a chicken whose chromosome pattern is most similar to dinosaur ancestors is wild. Just think if we had a genetic reversal, there'd be a KFC retaliation.
Deanna Mendenhall said...
For our latest trip we are going to venture into perhaps my favorite state, Colorado. In Colorado, at the bast of the Rockies on the eastern side we have Dinosaur Ridge, which is now a tourist activity spot, but once was the site of a new discovery of magnificent fossils and trace fossils.
In 1877 Arthur Lakes, from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, discovered a few of the best known fossils today. From Dinosaur ridge, we have seen the Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Colorados state fossil--Allosaurus. These species all were identified as living in the late Jurassic age.
The Morrison Formation is located in the Rockies to the north of the town Morrison. It is a group of rock layers at the Dinosaur Quarry, located within Dinosaur Ridge. The formation extends all the way to Wyoming via the Rockies and has outcrops in many surrounding states. Essentially, wherever the Rockies are, there is probably part of the Morrison Formation, and evidence of past dinosaur life.
The nice thing about locating this monument is you only need to travel slightly west of Denver proper. If you drive along I 70 W, and veer towards hwy 470 you will pass right by Dinosaur Ridge.
Inside the ridge, there are multiple trails one can walk and see footprints of "an Iguanodon like plant eating dinosaurs". The large amount of footprints found have earned this track discover the name the "Dinosaur Freeway".
http://www.dinoridge.org/index.html
January 30, 2015 at 12:24 PM
I enjoyed this post about taking and expedition by Deanna because it takes us Colorado which is a place I have always wanted to go (not just the airport) She talks about the history of the monument and location. The most interesting point in my opinion was the ‘Dinosaur Freeway’ that is inside the ridge of the monument.
Sunny Win said...
https://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/
This blog rants and raves on many things dino. I was surprised and happy to find that the first posts mentioned something about Therapod Thursdays and I love alliterations. They featured snapshots of our friends the avian dinosaurs. The next post after a bit more scrolling revealed a really interesting process and photo accompaniment of measuring dinosaurs. They looked like they were prepping for a museum or something but it reminded me of our assignment comparing and converting size of our femur to that of an Allosaurus. This blog has neat photos, descriptions, and even what appears to be a peak into the process of 3-D modeling. Hope you find this blog as interesting as I did!
Sunny talks about a blog about dinosuars, it made me laugh when Therapod Thursday’s were mentioned. I also like the point on 3d printing which really is going to be a big part of our lives in the future somehow. Finally the post (Sunny’s) talks about measureing dinosaurs and prepping for a museum which I thought was amazing and something you don’t hear about everyday
I think my favorite posting so far has been Seth's comic aside on http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/
It makes for a great laugh.
My other pick is Deanna's posting about where she would go to search for fossils. She chose Antarctica, and gave some history on its changing climate.
I liked Kory's post from week 4, where we learn that Daniel Fisher discovered 42 mastodon bones in his backyard.
This is interesting to me because Mastodons are really interesting animals that we just haven't learned enough about. With the knowledge we have now, and the skills we've learned throughout this course, perhaps what Fisher found was a bonebed, which could lead us into some assumptions about Mastodon lifestyles!
We know they were mammals so they likely followed the K-strategy, producing few off spring. If what he had found was a bonebed, this would show evidence of herding!
The other post I found interesting was from week 7 posted by Jenn.
Her post was about T-Rex footprints that gave evidence of traveling in multiple numbers! A rather important find to validate these claims of their social behavior, this has led to lots of interpretations of how they lived, and how they raised young. This inference of them traveling together has even been shown throughout different media, including the kid's show Land Before Time.
I liked the link that Seth gave us a few weeks ago for Adam Smith's twitter when we were sharing others who blog about dinosaurs. I like how twitter can be used as an informative source, because you can post pictures, links, musings, anything really. So the informational possibilities aren't limited to one subject.
https://twitter.com/adamstuartsmith
And last week Kathryn put up a cool site which showed about 50 different types of dino prints in one area along the Yukon River. And I liked it because it's fun to imagine so many diverse dinosaurs in one place coexisting. Instead of a stereotypical view of them as spread apart and with few interactions between species.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs/yukon-dinosaur-tracks-130925.htm
Jenn T- From week five she wrote--I hope my question doesn't sound to informal, but is a true wonder of mine. As we have read in our textbook, some famous paleontologists were said to have a "smell" for finding the fossils and locations. I would want to know if any others feel like they have this feeling of "luck", or just a "know" of where to look? Do you rely solely on scientific information and other sources as a rule for prospecting new finds, or do you ever feel like you get a "feeling" that leads you to the right spot? Do you have any stories of an amazing find that you felt was very lucky?
February 6, 2015 at 10:12 AM
I would also like to know the answer to this question. I would think that YES, people I am sure have a feeling, and what if you introduced psychics to the mix, are they capable of uncovering a new fossil.
Lei Wang- From week 7 wrote--i found this news which is about the huge trove of dinosaur footprints found in Alsaka in 2014. The discovery add edvidence to Fiorillo's convinction that dinosaur lived at high latitudes year-round during the late Cretaceous Period. Apart from the footprints, they also found that many deep tracks have preserved dinosaur skin and nail impression. Most of the tracks are from adults dinosaur. This discovery bring us to learn more about the dinosaur behavior.
February 21, 2015 at 9:13 AM
I really struggled with this blog so I really found it helpful to read over the other students who found some new evidence of trace fossils. I did get some guidance from Mr. B but the students were very helpful as well!
I enjoyed the blog Kim H shared about the “Which Came first, the dinosaur or the bird?” blog in week 6. I ended up reading quite a bit because I found it interesting, and I share some of the feelings of awe that some of the paleontologists share when they see a bird. It’s pretty cool that you can technically have a pet dinosaur!
I also loved the questions Kory V brought up in Week 5 when we had to come up with questions to ask a Paleontologist. He said something to the effect of “how do you know you’re always getting the correct pieces of the puzzle when putting together a dinosaur?” We learned earlier in our book that some dinosaurs have been re-worked like the Iguanodon, and some entirely scrapped or merged with other creatures, so it obviously happens sometimes. I thought it was an interesting point to bring up.
From the week 5 blog thestad said...
I'm wanting to know what confrontations or problems you have had to resolve while you have had with uncovering and removing Dinosaur fossils from what they would consider "sacred ground." Also, maybe a case where the locals or tribesmen thought the fossils themselves were to be sacred.
I enjoyed this question but also wanted to ask something along similar lines. I wanted to know if and how conflicts are handled and what happens if you are unsatisfied with your teammates or working conditions? I know its never fun to be stuck in any situation but one in the hot sun that you can't get out of and have to be really careful and diplomatic in. Also, it would be interesting to know what and why people in surrounding areas believed to be sacred about fossils and how to sort those issues out.
During week 7 Lei Wang shared a fascinating article about trace fossils found in Alaska. This was fascinating to me because I am very curious about Alaska and didn't realize that there would be significance in dinosaurs living in varying altitudes. This post kind of got my brain jump started on new questions about why this would be important and what adaptions would be made.
I really appreciated the intervention of Thestad on the week 7. In effect, I did really love the links he shared because they were full of useful informations that enabled me to have a good understanding of the chapter.
I would like also to thank Shannon Meyer, for her work of the week two. I loved her fruitful imagination. By reading what she wrote, I understood that she did it with passion. It was an imaginary story, but she made it sound like it was real.Bravo.
I found the posts for the imaginary field trip fun to read.
Kory VanDyke posted a very long and detailed trip in week 3, and it sounds like a real trip. There are lots of information and personal reflection in it, which make the comment very fun to read.
"Last year I went down to the Ica Province in Peru to explore the Ica Valley where the infamous Ica stones were discovered in the sixties by Javier Cabrera Darquea... ...So, that's how I learned not to believe everything you hear and to do more preliminary investigations before you set out on an excavation 5,000 miles away!"
January 23, 2015 at 8:40 PM
The other post that i like was posted by Shannon Meyer in week 4. This is another imaginary trip, and Shannon's destination is New Jersey. There are lots of information about the weather, road condition and direction.
"My imaginary dinosaur expedition in the US will take me to New Jersey to one of the most prolific site for dinosaur, and other pre-historic fossils in the state, the Ellisdale Fossil Site located in the valley of the Crosswicks Creek in Monmouth County....... I fly back out to Seattle, satisfied with the prospect of new fossil discoveries in spring time. "
I really enjoyed when Michelle O(week 6) was talking about Ali Nabavizadeh the student from John Hopkins University school of medicine. She mentioned his research about jaw mechanisms in ornithischian dinosaurs. I also agreed with her point on dinosaur movies getting people more interested in dinos.
I thought what Jenn T said about how corporations using more new age technology into the topic of dinosaurs. Such as students being able to use 3d modeling software for projects. Link ->http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/education-posts/students-use-3d-printing-to-reconstruct-dinosaurs
Marlon
Dino Dung: Paleontology's Next Frontier?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0312_030312_dinodung.html
I think when most people hear the word "fossil" they think of animal bones, like dinosaurs. However, their bones and the particular layer of earth they are excavated from are only part of the story. How can we know what their world was like? By examining coprolites, we learn not only what plants and animals the dinosaurs ate but what their environment was like, what diseases and parasites they may have suffered from, and details about their metabolism. It seems strange to study fossilized poop, or any kind of poop for that matter. However, it can reveal an incredible amount of information that help us to understand dinosaurs and their world.
Jacob Messou said...
http://blogs.plos.org/paleo/
This link leads us to an interesting blog created by Doctor Andrew A. Farke, a paleontologist. Dr. Farke’s research interests primarily focus on the evolution and functional morphology of the ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs.With this blog, we can learn more about the phylogeny of horned dinosaurs
Above are two entries I enjoyed. The first thing about the first one (it’s from week one)…was the first line! Haha….it made me laugh but as I read further I actually learned that the writer and I had similar points of views on this.
The second is from week 6 and this was the week I was really stuck on my wondering about evolution. The post caused me to think about what I can learn about ceratopians (which I decided should be someone’s name, just like ankylosaurs should be “Anky-lo” and the sounds different dinosaurs make and possibilities of why those sounds.
My first repost will be from Tim H in week four when we took our imaginary trips; Tim took us to Tombstone, AZ ( a place I have always wanted to visit). I like the idea of ancient dinosaur remains being the first important piece of history in a place like Tombstone. Tim said: For my excursion I will be taking my small crew to the one and only Tombstone Arizona. Specifically in the eastern Tombstone Hills in Cochise County. The fossils are found in limestone formations. To start our travel from Seattle we will be flying into Tucson and going southeast from there to tombstone. Before we leave we will gather supplies and renting a large van in Tucson. Other areas of Arizona have dinosaur fossils because of their rugged sedimentary environment that fossilized dead dinosaurs so well. Upon our arrival it is a dry, spring morning and we want to start before it gets to hot and we have to call it a day. We set out to a limestone formation and have already discovered many dig sites from previous excursions. We continue this for the next several days and discover a few petrified wood samples. Which are quite common for the state as during the Jurassic period the state was covered in conifers.
Sources:
http://www.t-rat.com/Pages/WhereToFindFossils.html
http://www.gatorgirlrocks.com/state-by-state/arizona.html
Another posting I really enjoyed was by Shannon in week 3; I share the same desire of seeing women in male dominated fields of work and really appreciated her bringing a prominent female paleontologist. She said: An expert in the microscopic structure of dinosaur bones, Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan is an extraordinary paleontologist as well as a zoology professor at the University of Cape Town. Microscopic inspection of bones can reveal rapidity of bone growth, age, gender, and hibernation patterns, giving us an idea of how certain dinosaurs survived in arctic terrains. She has written multiple books on the microbiology of bones as well as a book on the dinosaurs of Africa, meant to encourage young children in South Africa to pursue science. She is a Fellow with both the Royal Society of South Africa and at the University of Cape Town. Not only has she done research on the micro structure of dinosaur bones, but her current work is looking at early mammals and early bird species. Her dedication to educating people on the ancient world, and drawing connections between early species and modern birds and mammals using the newest radiological and microbiological techniques are admirable. Microscopic examination gives us a whole new portal into understanding ancient life.
http://www.biologicalsciences.uct.ac.za/bio/staff/academic/chinsamyturan
Shannon Meyer’s description for the week 3 assignment of designing an excursion to another country where dinosaur fossils were discovered, stood out to me due to all of the small details she included. For example, “Knowing that anything we find automatically becomes the property of the Argentinean government under law, we petitioned for permission to extract and take any fossils that may be found back in the US, on temporary loan, to ensure rapport with the fossils’ home country.” She made it seem like she had actually been on the trip.
Kory VanDyke’s reply for the week 5 assignment of asking a paleontologist a question regarding excursions, was very interesting to me and I have had the same questions in the past. One of the questions he asked was “What makes you so sure you're not attaching the wrong arms to t-rex and maybe they're all buried in a hodgepodge of different dinosaurs?”
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