Welcome to the Roopnarine Paleontology Lab at the California Academy of Sciences. The department also houses the invertebrate and vertebrate fossil collections, the paleobotanical collection, the micropaleontology collections, and the gem and mineral collections.

Announcements

  • January, 2009 - Dr. Nell Green Nylen joins the lab as a Research Assistant. She is also a Curatorial Assistant for the Geology and Diatoms collections.
  • October 5-9, 2008 - Lab members present four abstracts at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Houston.
  • The lab and the Academy hosts the Annual CalPaleo Conference, April 28, 2007.
  • April 6, 2007 - Ken Angielczyk appointed as the new Curator of Paleomammalogy at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago! We will miss him.
  • January, 2007 - Carol Tang appointed as new Director of Visitor Interpretive Programs at the Academy.
  • December 17, 2006 - Ken Angielczyk returns from the University of Bristol to take up position as NSF Postdoctoral Researcher.
  • October 22-25, 2006 - Lab members present seven abstracts at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Philadelphia.
  • August 28, 2006 – Rachel Hertog begins graduate work, San Francisco State University.
  • January 2, 2006 – Rachel Hertog joins lab as Research Assistant.
  • January 1, 2006 – Carol Tang promoted to Associate Director of Public Programs, CAS.

Paleontology Laboratory

Research Interests

  • Theory of extinction, mass extinctions, and community evolution.
  • Mathematical modelling of paleocommunity perturbative dynamics.
  • Morphometric analysis of morphological integration.
  • Venerid and corbulid bivalve evolution and systematics.
  • Evolutionary ecology of Neogene tropical American marine molluscs.

Funding

  • Hagey Venture Fund, CAS "Predicting and assessing impacts of the Cosco Busan San Fransicso Bay oil spill". PIs P. D. Roopnarine and J. Dumbacher.
  • NSF ARC-0530825 "Mathematical Modeling and Bayesian Analysis of Paleocommunity Collapse during Mass Extinctions". PIs P. D. Roopnarine and S. C. Wang.

Paleontology Laboratory

  • Peter Roopnarine; Curator of Geology and Paleontology, Curatoror Invertebrate Zoology & Geoogy
  • Rachel Hertog; Graduate Student, San Francisco State University
  • Martin Olson; Graduate Student, San Francisco State University
  • Nell Green Nylen; Research Assistant
  • Jean DeMouthe; Collections Manager, Fossils, Minerals, Diatoms
  • Shelly WIllard; Curatorial Assistant

Selected Publications

Roopnarine, P. D. 2009. Ecological modeling of paleocommunity food webs. in G. Dietl and K. Flessa, eds., Conservation Paleobiology, The Paleontological Society Papers, 15: ?-?? (accepted)

Bennington, J. B., W. A. DiMichele, C. Badgley, R. K. Bambach, P. M. Barrett, A. K. Behrensmeyer, R. Bobe, R. J. Burnham, E. B. Daeschler, J. van Dam, J. T. Eronen, D. H. Erwin, S. Finnegan, S. M. Holland, G. Hunt, D. Jablonski, S. T. Jackson, B. F. Jacobs, S. M. Kidwell, P. L. Koch, M. J. Kowalewski, C. C. Labandeira, C. V. Looy, S. K. Lyons, P. M. Novack-Gottshall, R. Potts, P. D. Roopnarine, C. A. E. Strömberg, H. Sues, P. J. Wagner, P. Wilf, and S. L. Wing. 2009. Critical Issues of Scale in Paleoecology. Palaios, 24: 1-4.

Recent Abstracts

ANGIELCZYK, Kenneth D., KAMMERER, Christain F., ROOPNARINE, Peter D., and WANG, Steve C. 2008. THE PERTURBATION RESISTANCE OF EARLY PERMIAN TERRESTRIAL COMMUNITIES CHARACTERIZED BY LOW TETRAPOD HERBIVORE DIVERSITY. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 40(6).

SUN, Libin, WANG, Steve C., ROOPNARINE, Peter, and ANGIELCZYK, Kenneth D. 2008. ESTIMATING THE MAGNITUDE OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION LOSS IN THE END-PERMIAN MASS EXTINCTION. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 40(6).

Contact the Curator

  • Peter Roopnarine
  • Curator & Department Chairman
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • 55 Music Concourse Drive
  • San Francisco, CA 94118
  • 415-379-5271 (direct)

Contact the Collections Manager

For inquiries please contact:

  • Jean DeMouthe
  • Geology Collections Manager
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • 55 Music Concourse Drive
  • San Francisco, CA 94118
  • 415-379-5258 (direct)

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