Extinctions: Punctuations in Time
March 12 & 13, 2005

In 4.3 billion years, there have been six major extinctions on planet Earth. Our 2005 Founders Symposium took a look at these dramatic and fascinating events – from the disappearance of the dinosaurs at the K/T Boundary to the role man may have played in recent extinctions. Held at the Colorado School of Mines, the two-day event featured 14 presentations, four workshops and a guided geological tour of the nearby Fossil Trace Golf Course.

2005 Speakers — Saturday

Emmett Evanoff, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Museum
Introduction to Extinctions

Keith Berry
University of Kansas
Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction

Jared Morrow, Ph.D.
University of Northern Colorado
Late Devonian Reefal Madness – Patterns and Processes of the Frasnian-Famennian (F/F) Mass Extinction

Linda Soar
Western Interior Paleontological Society
Introduction to the Upper Devonian, White River Plateau, Colorado

Debra Krumm, Ph.D.
Colorado State University
The Rise and Fall of Reef-Builders Through Time with a Permian Close-up

Martin Lockley, Ph.D.
University of Colorado
Dinosaurs in Decline: A New Perspective on Biological Factors Contributing to the Extinction of the Dinosaurs

Doug Nichols, Ph.D.
U.S. Geological Survey
Dinosaur and Plant Extinctions at the K-T Boundary: a Comparison of the Records from Western North America and Eastern Asia

Jaelyn Eberle, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Museum
Early Eocene Mammals from the High Arctic: Implications for Understanding the Paleocene-Eocene Transition in North America

Steven Veatch
Emporia State University
A Mammoth Discovery at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado

2005 Speakers — Sunday

Gustavo Morales, Ph.D.
Valencia Community College
Extinctions: An Overview

Paul Belanger, Ph.D.
Aspect Energy, LLC
Stable Isotopes: What They Can Tell Us About the Oceans and Atmosphere at Extinction Events

Russ Graham, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
A Self-Organizing, Threshold Model for the Environmental Cause of Terminal Pleistocene Extinctions in North America

Steven Holen, Ph.D.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Taphonomic Evidence from Full Glacial Maximum Mammoth Sites in Central North America Does Not Support the Megafaunal Overkill Hypothesis

Jeff Lockwood, Ph.D.
University of Wyoming
The Magnificent Rocky Mountain Locust: from Magnificent Profusions to Mysterious Extinction

2005 Workshops

Eocene/Oligocene Extinction
John Ghist
Platte Canyon High School (Colorado)
The Eocene/Oligocene Transition: A Foram Perspective

Herb Meyer, Ph.D.
National Park Service
Plant Transition at the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary: Response of Forests to Climate Change

Dena Smith, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Museum
Fossil Insects: Little Extinction and Lots of Diversification

Emmett Evanoff, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Museum
Effects (and Noneffects) of Late Eocene/Oligocene Extinction on Terrestrial Faunas

Large Mammals Extinctions in North America in the Pleistocene: Man or Nature?
Steve Holen, Ph.D.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Megafaunal Extinction at the End of the Pleistocene: Was it Caused by Humans or Climate Change?

Daniel Fisher, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Late Pleistocene Extinction of North American Megafauna

Russ Graham, Ph.D.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Environmental Models for Quaternary Extinctions

Larry Todd, Ph.D.
Colorado State University
Colonists, Competitors and Co-conspirators: Assessing Human Roles in Late Pleistocene North American Extinctions

Fossil Preparation
J.P. Cavigelli
Tate Museum (Wyoming)
JP’s Exciting Fossil Preparation Workshop

Larry Oliveria & John Scandizzo
Paleo-Ed Institute
Molding and Casting Fossils

Bill Mason
Uncommon Conglomerates
New Products for the Preparation of Old, Dead Fossils

Fossil Art
Wayne Itano
Western Interior Paleontological Society
Fossil Photography

Pat Redman
Freelance Paleo Artist
Drawing on Extinctions: Paleo Art and Reconstructing the Past