Field Trips

Pre-conference excursion

Climatic change and cyclic extinction in Silurian reefs of the Central United States

This field trip will examine the character and origins of extinction events observed in the classic Silurian reefs of the central United States. The biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, geochemistry, taphonomy, and sequence stratigraphy of these structures and surrounding non-reef environments will be examined to demonstrate the role of climatically driven sea-level change in reef development and diversity. Extinction patterns of trilobites, brachiopods, echinoderms, and other taxa are related to depositional events observed in these reefs, while associated occurrences of exceptional preservation are found in surrounding environments. As the first ancient reefs described from early Paleozoic rocks, these structures are essential components of the region’s geoheritage and mineral resource industry.

Leader: Don Mikulic (Weis Earth Science Museum)

Dates: June 14-16

Cost: $350


Mid-conference day trips

Middle Devonian marine fossils of the Michigan Basin: the Silica Formation

This half-day excursion focuses on examining and collecting the world-famous fauna of the Devonian (Givetian) Silica Formation. The field trip site, located a short distance south of Ann Arbor, hosted a limestone quarry in the 1960s, but the pit itself has long since been filled. Spoil piles of shale from that operation have been exposed to the elements for over 50 years and yield a well-preserved shelly fauna dominated by brachiopods but also including trilobites, crinoids and other echinoderms, corals, and bryozoa. Collecting is easy and tools are not needed as many specimens have weathered-out of the shale matrix and are simply lying loose on the surface. Please note that this site is within tightly secured private property and permission to enter the area has been granted to the NAPC group for the day of the field trip only.

Leaders: Steve LoDuca (Eastern Michigan University), David Thompson (Friends of the UMMP)

Date: June 19 (half day/morning, with return in time for afternoon workshops)

Cost: $40

Carboniferous (Mississippian) fossils of Michigan: the Marshall Formation at the Blue Ridge Esker

This half-day excursion examines the Blue Ridge Esker, a prominent glacial feature in Jackson County, Michigan. With a southeast to northwest orientation, this ridge of sediment extends for roughly 8 km. The field site is an active gravel pit operated by the Jackson County Road Commission. The Blue Ridge Esker contains sediments derived from multiple units, but large clasts from the Marshall Formation are particularly prominent. Sandstone boulders and smaller pieces yield abundant marine fossils of Missippian age, including brachiopods, cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, crinoids, and occasional vertebrates including chondrichthyan teeth and spines. Fossils can be collected on the surface without any excavation.

Leaders: Mike Palescuk (Friends of the UMMP)

Date: June 19 (half day/afternoon, departing after morning workshops)

Cost: $40

Behind the scenes at the University of Michigan’s Research Museums Center

This half-day excursion, offered as both a morning and afternoon session, tours the Research Museums Center (RMC). Home to the research collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, Museum of Zoology, Herbarium, and Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, the RMC houses roughly 20 million specimens and artifacts and represents one of the largest such collections at a U.S. university. Participants will explore each of these major collections, viewing significant objects and touring research facilities. Delegates wishing to make research visits to collections housed at RMC should make separate arrangements with relevant collections managers and curators.

Leaders: Research museums collections staff and students

Date: June 19 (half day, morning and afternoon trips available)

Cost: free (must be selected at registration)

Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) marginal-marine fossils and strata at Grand Ledge, Michigan: stratigraphical, educational and cultural significance

The best-exposed natural bedrock outcrops in Michigan’s southern peninsula are Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) sandstone ledges underlain by silts, clays, and coals in classic midcontinent ‘cyclothem’ stratigraphy,exposed along the Grand River in the town of Grand Ledge. A trip to these outcrops is often the first geology field experience for many Michigan geology students. In addition to reviewing the stratigraphic and paleontological significance of these strata we will discuss the educational and geoheritage aspects of these rocks and issues facing their preservation for future generations.  

Leaders: Danita Brandt, Michael Velbel (Michigan State University), and Peter Voice (Western Michigan University)

Date: June 19 (full day)

Cost: $85


Post-conference excursions

Diving into the Age of Fishes: the Cleveland Shale and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History 

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is in the midst of a total transformation. This field trip will include the chance to see newly imagined public gallery spaces, including the Visitor Hall that opened in October 2023 and a tour of our new collections facilities that will be completed in May 2024. Additionally, there will be a workshop by our digital media department focusing on different methods for digitizing fossil specimens, including 3D scanning and photography. On the second day, the group will go out to Rocky River Reservation to look for fossils in the Cleveland Shale, where many of our iconic Dunkleosteus mounts were discovered.

Leaders: Caitlin Colleary (Cleveland Museum of Natural History), Bob Carr

Date: June 22-23

Cost: $250

The classic Cincinnatian (Upper Ordovician, Katian) of the Cincinnati vicinity: paleoenvironments and ecology of a sea without fish

This two-day excursion will spend the first day at three main stops in reverse chronological order: (1) a classic upper Cincinnatian section in the spillway of Caesar Creek Reservoir, with abundant brachiopods, bryozoans, rugose corals of shallow subtidal facies; (2) Trammel Fossil Park featuring the Maysvillian Stage, upper Fairview, and Grant Lake formations, noted for a variety of brachiopods, molluscs and less commonly, the edrioasteroid Isorophus cincinnatiensis; (3) the reference section of the lower Cincinnatian Edenian Stage Kope Formation at Fort Thomas, KY, which yields deeper water fossils including brachiopods, bryozoans, small crinoids, trilobites, and graptolites. On the second day we will provide a tour of the Geier Collections and Research Facility and the outstanding new displays of Paleozoic fossils, Jurassic dinosaurs and the Pleistocene featuring classic Bone Lick fossils and reconstructed environments and others at the Cincinnati Museum Center. 

Leaders: Carl Brett (University of Cincinnati) and Brenda Hunda (Cincinnati Museum Center)

Dates: June 22-23

Cost: $285

The Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil site: collecting at “Worm Hill” and viewing non-worms at the Field Museum

The late Carboniferous Mazon Creek Lagerstätte is world-famous for its diverse and abundant fossils of plants and soft bodied animals. However, over a hundred years of collecting has resulted in most publicly accessible localities of this site being completely picked over, and, these days, only rarely yielding interesting fossils. On this trip, we have the opportunity to visit and collect from a privately owned site. Nicknamed “Worm Hill” for its abundant worm fossils, it represents a locality where marine animal fossils are still commonly found. On the second day, we will visit the extensive collection at the Field Museum in Chicago, to see many of the best specimens, and rarest species, from the Mazon Creek.

Leader: Victoria McCoy (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)

Dates: June 22-23

Cost: $285


Workshops

Full day 

Analytical approaches to networks, trophic structure, and ancient food webs

Food web analyses remain relatively novel in paleontology, hindered in part by cryptic ecological attributes of extinct fossil organisms, incomplete preservation, and the analytical challenges posed by complex networks. While ecological attribute data are becoming increasingly available through new resources such as BITE, EOL, TraitBase, and others, training and educational resources on analytical methods remain sparse. We hope to stimulate new avenues of research in paleoecology and train the next generation of ecological network modelers by providing instruction on the construction and modeling of paleocommunity food webs. This workshop should be of particular interest to graduate students and early career scientists. The workshop will include lectures, as well as hands-on exercises providing training on the use and applications of fossil food webs. Topics covered will include: The construction of ecological networks, modeling approaches and applications in paleontology, and examples. Exercises, worksheets, R and Julia code, and other instructional materials will be made available online after completion, and are anticipated to be of interest to researchers working on paleoecology.

Leaders: Carrie Tyler (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), Peter Roopnarine (California Academy of Sciences), Ashley Dineen (University of California Museum of Paleontology), Roxanne Banker (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), Madeline Ess (Miami University)
Session: AM+PM (full day)
Attendance cap: 25


Innovative tools for research management in academia

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce tools and strategies that can enhance productivity, increase efficiency and solidify team dynamics. We will be targeting areas such as task management, communication, team accountability, defining scope, budget and timelines. Additionally, we will cover the language used in industry which will grant access to free resources that are widely used by industry professionals. By the end of this workshop each participant will leave with a personalized toolkit that will give them the confidence to take on even the most unbridled of projects. Throughout the course we will be introducing proven strategies for more effective project management as well as introducing costume tools that we have created specifically for academia.

Leaders: Deborah Coyle (iincepta), Amanda Godbold (University of Southern California)
Session: AM+PM (full day)
Attendance cap: 45


Morning session

R for Paleobiologists: Getting started with the palaeoverse R package

This workshop will introduce attendees to palaeoverse, an R package which supports data preparation and exploration for paleobiological analysis, improving code reproducibility and accessibility. The event will focus on introducing databases (e.g. Paleobiology Database) and building workflows in R (e.g. data cleaning) using palaeoverse. Additional packages developed by Palaeoverse (www.palaeoverse.org), such as rphylopic, will also be introduced along with the versatility R has to offer. This event will provide a great opportunity for attendees to work with different researchers and gain experience working collaboratively in R to generate reproducible research. Note, this will be a variant of an event already planned for September 2023 in the UK. We hope that by offering this event at NAPC, we can reach both the paleontological community based in the United States and international attendees. 

Leaders: Lewis Jones (Universidade de Vigo), Bethany Allen (ETH Zurich), William Gearty (American Museum of Natural History), Erin Dillon (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), Christopher Dean (University College London)
Session: AM
Attendance cap: 25


Open-source software for 3D data

In this beginner-level workshop, I will teach participants how to view and process 3D data using 3D Slicer, a free, open-source software. Participants will learn: 1.) differences in formats of 3D data and how to choose a format, 2.) how to load and view 3D data in Slicer, 3.) tools for segmenting CT data in Slicer, 4.) how to landmark and measure 3D data in Slicer, 5.) tools for editing meshes in Slicer, and 6.) how to export a final mesh. Sample data will be provided, but participants can bring their own data. Participants are expected to bring their own laptops with the software installed (instructions for how to do this will be provided prior to the workshop). A minimum of 8GB of RAM is required, but 16GB is recommended. 

Leader: Anne Kort (University of Michigan)
Session: AM
Attendance cap: 15


Building custom ecosystem models with biogeochemical cycles in PALEOtoolkit

This half-day workshop will introduce a maximum of 20 participants to modeling using the PALEOtoolkit. The PALEOtoolkit is a dynamical modeling framework, publicly available onGitHub at https://github.com/PALEOtoolkit, used for creating custom model configurations to explore geological, paleontological and biogeochemical processes. The workshop will begin with an introduction to the meaning of ‘modeling’ in the context of the PALEO framework, and how to apply core PALEO framework principles, such as timescale separation, model hierarchies and process-based modeling, to break down problems at the scale paleontologists are interested in into manageable models. Participants will be assisted in defining a hypothesis relevant to their scientific interests which could be tested with PALEOtoolkit. In the second part of the workshop, participants will follow along with a PALEOtoolkit tutorial, configuring a simple model of a shelf sea with biotic interactions. This configuration is relevant to many paleontological questions and would form a sound base for the exploration of many paleontological hypotheses in PALEOtoolkit. At the end of the workshop, participants can receive guidance on first steps to continue working with PALEOtoolkit in their own research program. The PALEOtoolkit is coded in Julia, but no previous Julia experience is required. Some knowledge of coding in any language is helpful, but all are welcome. 

Leaders: Stuart Daines, Sara Sjosten (University of Exeter)
Session: AM
Attendance cap: 20


An introduction to Claddis: an R package for analysing morphological diversity and tempo using (primarily) discrete characters

The R package Claddis has provided implementations for a variety of methods for analyzing discrete character-taxon matrices since 2015, with a focus on morphological diversity (“disparity”) and tempo. Data can be imported into Claddis using #NEXUS format, and exported in #NEXUS or TNT format. Discrete character-taxon matrices can be converted into pairwise distance matrices and these can then be ordinated or used directly to measure morphological diversity. Ordinated data can be visualized using multiple morphospace plotting functions. Likelihood-based ancestral state estimation allows more sophisticated analysis of changes along the branches of phylogenetic trees. As well as visualizing phylomorphospaces, these include analyses of evolutionary tempo (rates). Different hypotheses of rate variation can be tested by partitioning an evolutionary tree into different branch-, time- or character-bins and comparing these rates using either Likelihood Ratio Tests or the Akaike Information Criterion. Claddis has been used in over 200 scientific papers to date and this will be the first workshop provided since 2019. In that time the package has evolved and grown, with new functions including parsimony and homoplasy algorithms, amongst other features. This workshop will provide both new and existing users with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to apply Claddis functions to their own data. Attendees should bring their own laptops with R/RStudio installed. Familiarity with R is definitely helpful but basic instruction will also be provided.

Leader: Graeme Lloyd
Session: AM
Attendance cap: 20


Vision for a Midwestern Paleontology Center: Exploring Priorities in Research, Participation, and Partnerships

This workshop aims to stimulate innovative ideas that will form the foundation of a comprehensive proposal for a Midwestern center and cross-university partnership to be focused on paleontology (both vertebrate and invertebrate), fossil digitization and visualization, and museum studies (both physical and virtual) through the NSF’s Science and Technology Centers: Integrative Partnerships program. With these goals in mind, our workshop seeks to gather valuable feedback from participants on four primary priority areas: 1) Expanding Participation: Examining strategies to broaden involvement within underrepresented student groups and the community; 2) Infrastructure Enhancement: Identifying crucial infrastructure needs for advancing research and participation; 3) Emerging Research: Exploring cutting-edge research areas and trends; and 4) Collaborative Partnerships: Cultivating external partnerships to provide innovative approaches and groundbreaking investigations. The ultimate objective of the workshop is to produce a comprehensive white paper that underscores the imperative for large-scale, interdisciplinary research endeavors through the lens of paleontology.

Leaders: Tara Selley, James Schiffbauer, Sarah Jacquet, Lydia Tackett, Casey Holliday, Carol Ward (University of Missouri)
Session: AM
Attendance cap: 35


Afternoon session

Managing Morphological Character Matrices using MorphoBank

MorphoBank is an open access, open science online resource for evolutionary research and phylogenetic studies that hosts peer reviewed scientific data in the form of over 1,000 morphological character matrices and over 150,000 scientific images. MorphoBank has been serving the research community for over 20 years as a platform where scientists around the globe can collaborate together to build, publish, curate and permanently host morphological phylogenetic matrices. This workshop will introduce up to 20 participants to the data repository and collaborative work environment of MorphoBank. During the first half of this 3-hour workshop, participants will learn how to create a new project by adding a matrix or uploading images. In the second half, participants will choose (or will be assigned) published datasets to curate or create projects from their own unpublished data for future use. The second half of the workshop is optional, but participants are encouraged to stay the full 3 hours so that MorphoBank staff can provide guidance, troubleshooting, and answer questions.

Leader: Brooke Long-Fox, Tanya Berardini (Phoenix Bioinformatics)
Session: PM
Attendance cap: 30


Careers in science communications panel with PBS Eons

Interest in careers in science communication and education continues to increase as many students and professionals look beyond academia, but information and training for such careers are not widely available. In this panel, the team behind the popular digital series, PBS Eons, shares their experiences and knowledge on how to pursue science communication and education career opportunities. In addition, they’ll share a behind-the-scenes look at how an episode of Eons is made and answer audience questions.

Leader: Gabriel Santos (Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology)
Session: PM
Attendance cap: 60


Virtual paleontology: hands-on training with Mimics Innovation Suite

The use of CT (computed tomography) imaging is becoming a common tool within the field of paleontology; where it is being leveraged for taxon identification, studying comparative anatomy or functional morphology. The Mimics Innovation Suite is the gold-standard 3D software referenced in over 13,000 scientific publications and is used for the purpose of image segmentation, 3D analysis and creating physical representative models via 3D Printing. Our team offers comprehensive technical support to ensure that you get the most out of the Mimics Innovation Suite. Join us to learn about the software that has supported 3D reconstruction for over 30 years in several industries. Participants will learn how to: 1.) Upload imaging data 2.) Utilize the various tools for segmentation and editing 3.) Generate a 3D model 4.) Optimize and clean-up the model 5.) Export the final file into the preferred format. Sample Data will be provided, but participants can bring their own data.

Leader: Bradley Tumas (Materialise)
Session: PM
Attendance cap: 25


Save time, work smarter with Zotero

Participants will be shown how they can use Zotero to enhance their academic productivity and work more efficiently. Unlike some other reference management tools like RefWorks and EndNote, Zotero is free and not tied to institutional licensing. It is also possible to easily migrate between other reference management tools and Zotero. It is possible to switch to using Zotero at any point in your career because of this. While early career researchers and students might benefit the most from this workshop, it will be helpful to anyone who attends.

Leader: Nicholas Gardner (West Virginia University Potomac State College)
Session: PM
Attendance cap: 20