Michal Kowalewski
Hello! I am no longer a post-doc at the Department of Geosciences of the University of Arizona (thanks to the generosity of the NSF grant and Karl W. Flessa, I was supported there until December 1996). I am now a research scientist in the Biogeology Department at the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland
NOTE: I am currently at the Universitaet Tuebingen in Germany where I will stay until the early 1998 as a Humboldt Fellow.
Because I left USA, I am no longer "a legal alien". This does actually sadden me as I had became used to being green, short, and having two antennas protruding from my head.
By the way, all missing articles, all grammatic mistakes, and others
such found here are fully intentional. I could compose sentences in
perfect English, should I ever decide to do so, you know!
My favorite activities include beer drinking, eating, and more beer drinking.
My most current research projects involve taphonomic megabiases, brachiopod morphometrics, trace fossils, and time-averaging. To find more about me and my current research see below, check CEAM publications and CEAM abstracts as well as my CV. Also, check the Centro de Estudios de Almejas Muertas home page.
Check Statistical Workshop page to learn about the workshop I taught in the Fall 1996 and hope to teach again sometimes.
OUTLINE: The goal of this study is a multivariate
comparison of fossil benthic assemblages from two biogeographically and
tectonically distinct regions that existed in Germany during the Oligocene
and Miocene. Region 1, the Alpine Molasse of southern Germany, is a
tectonic basin characterized by high subsidence and accumulation rates. It
includes brackish to marine deposits of the Western Paratethys. Region 2,
Northwest Germany, is a passive continental margin characterized by low
subsidence and accumulation rates. It includes marine deposits of the
Boreal Province. The comparison will also include assemblages from
Northern Rhinetalgraben, through which the two regions were periodically
connected.
The project will be a rigorous quantitative comparison of
stratigraphically co-eval, marine benthic assemblages selected from the
two regions. The comparison will be a multivariate analysis of taphonomic,
taxonomic, ecologic, sedimentologic, and stratigraphic characteristics of
assemblages. The data will be obtained by direct sampling of selected
localities and supplemented by data derived from the literature and museum
collections.
The project will investigate a number of important issues. Most
importantly, the project will provide quantitative data on the taphonomy,
taxonomy, and ecology of benthic assemblages from two different
biogeographic and climatic settings. Such a comparison will shed new light
on the paleobiogeography and paleoecology of marine benthic ecosystems and
will contribute new information on the Tertiary history of Germany. The
project will also delineate quantitative taphofacies for the mid-Tertiary
macrobenthic assemblages of Germany. Additional taphonomic issues will be
explored such as the relative taphonomic differences among the major
invertebrate groups. Finally, a comparison of assemblages from the two
regions may allow for rigorous evaluation of the effects of tectonic and
subsidence settings on the mode of formation and taphonomy of
fossiliferous deposits.
OUTLINE: This project initiated by a Brasilian paleontologist (Marcello Simoes, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP; Brasil) is supported by the Brasilian Science Foundation of the State of Sao Paulo (FAPESP). It focuses primarily on taphonomy and time-averaging of Permian bivalve-dominated shell beds from Parana Basin. In addition, the project involves research on Devonian lingulid brachiopods from the same area. The project combines quantitative taphonomic analysis with intensive field-oriented qualitative investigations. This is ongoing resarch. We expect to complete the field and laboratory phase of the project by the end of this year (i.e., 1997)
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