Happy to participate in the Nat Geo Sciencetelling Bootcamp
25 October 2018
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCETELLING BOOTCAMP
National Geographic Society has offered me a new great opportunity: to participate in their Sciencetelling Bootcamp! It has been held between the 20th and 23rd of October in Madrid. A total of 25 Nat Geo Explorers attended the Bootcamp so it was a great chance to get to know each other and their very interesting works. Many of us, the attendees, were researchers but there were also photographers, journalists and conservationists. The Explorers' work included topics as interesting as the study of migrations (by humans and by other species), the great damage caused by plastic pollution or initiatives to increase our awareness of the natural world in our immediate surroundings.
The Bootcamp helped us to improve our communication skills. If we want to reach the largest number of public possible, we need to gain experience as storytellers. So in these three days, we had the great chance to be trained by highly-skilled professionals that provided very useful tips in the art of speaking, photographing, video shooting and social media communicating.
The final aim is not that we become professionals in any of these topics but that, by using easy devices (for example, a selfie stick), apps, and tips we can greatly increase the reach of our research and expeditions.
The bootcamp culminated with an event held at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT), where each of us had the chance to talk about our work, but only in three minutes and with three slides! It was challenging for me but with the training provided in the three previous days I was able to accomplish it.
I'm thankful once again to National Geographic Society for providing these opportunities to learn more and to get to know so many superb professionals and friends.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCETELLING BOOTCAMP
National Geographic Society has offered me a new great opportunity: to participate in their Sciencetelling Bootcamp! It has been held between the 20th and 23rd of October in Madrid. A total of 25 Nat Geo Explorers attended the Bootcamp so it was a great chance to get to know each other and their very interesting works. Many of us, the attendees, were researchers but there were also photographers, journalists and conservationists. The Explorers' work included topics as interesting as the study of migrations (by humans and by other species), the great damage caused by plastic pollution or initiatives to increase our awareness of the natural world in our immediate surroundings.
The Bootcamp helped us to improve our communication skills. If we want to reach the largest number of public possible, we need to gain experience as storytellers. So in these three days, we had the great chance to be trained by highly-skilled professionals that provided very useful tips in the art of speaking, photographing, video shooting and social media communicating.
The final aim is not that we become professionals in any of these topics but that, by using easy devices (for example, a selfie stick), apps, and tips we can greatly increase the reach of our research and expeditions.
The bootcamp culminated with an event held at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT), where each of us had the chance to talk about our work, but only in three minutes and with three slides! It was challenging for me but with the training provided in the three previous days I was able to accomplish it.
I'm thankful once again to National Geographic Society for providing these opportunities to learn more and to get to know so many superb professionals and friends.
26 September 2018
FIELD WORK AT DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
We just came back from our second field campaign at Doñana National Park in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project. Between the 9th and 20th of September, we carried out 13 more transects and studied from a taphonomical viewpoint all the skeletal remains that we found there. We added to the project one more habitat (Dehesa de Matasgordas) so, in total, we have analyzed 33 transects in 10 different habitats from the Park. The Dehesa de Matasgordas habitat, characterized by the presence of bushland among beautiful and old cork oaks, generated a very large amount of remains (mainly belonging to red deer and wild boar) to the point that, in the three transects that we carried out there, we reached 20 individuals well ahead of reaching the 1 km standard distance set for the transects.
The team was exactly the same one as last year, which made things easier and faster. I thank Adriana Oliver, Paloma López Guerrero, Enrique Cantero and David Martín Perea for all their professional help and for laughs at some tricky moments (intense heat, presence of ticks and millions of mosquitoes, bones from four red deer skeletons mixed up together, flat tyre, vehicle not starting, and other field-work challenges).
A novelty this year, is that we set, in the fenced area known as the Pudridero (area that the EBD collections personnel use to decompose carcasses), a weathering experiment. Our aim is to test how bones weather in a Mediterranean climatic regime and compare it to the weathering scale established by Kay Behrensmeyer at Amboseli NP (Kenya).
So, we are now done with the field work that was planned within the LiveDeadFossil project. My hope is to obtain funds in the future to keep on working on the taphonomic analysis of the bones from Doñana NP as this is meant to be a long-term project. And also, I hope to come back soon to this beautiful spot of the Southwest coast of Spain.
FIELD WORK AT DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
We just came back from our second field campaign at Doñana National Park in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project. Between the 9th and 20th of September, we carried out 13 more transects and studied from a taphonomical viewpoint all the skeletal remains that we found there. We added to the project one more habitat (Dehesa de Matasgordas) so, in total, we have analyzed 33 transects in 10 different habitats from the Park. The Dehesa de Matasgordas habitat, characterized by the presence of bushland among beautiful and old cork oaks, generated a very large amount of remains (mainly belonging to red deer and wild boar) to the point that, in the three transects that we carried out there, we reached 20 individuals well ahead of reaching the 1 km standard distance set for the transects.
The team was exactly the same one as last year, which made things easier and faster. I thank Adriana Oliver, Paloma López Guerrero, Enrique Cantero and David Martín Perea for all their professional help and for laughs at some tricky moments (intense heat, presence of ticks and millions of mosquitoes, bones from four red deer skeletons mixed up together, flat tyre, vehicle not starting, and other field-work challenges).
A novelty this year, is that we set, in the fenced area known as the Pudridero (area that the EBD collections personnel use to decompose carcasses), a weathering experiment. Our aim is to test how bones weather in a Mediterranean climatic regime and compare it to the weathering scale established by Kay Behrensmeyer at Amboseli NP (Kenya).
So, we are now done with the field work that was planned within the LiveDeadFossil project. My hope is to obtain funds in the future to keep on working on the taphonomic analysis of the bones from Doñana NP as this is meant to be a long-term project. And also, I hope to come back soon to this beautiful spot of the Southwest coast of Spain.
Carapace of a giant tortoise from Batallones-10
7 August 2018
Summer is the time of the year for vacations and to relax. Nevertheless for us, paleontologists, it is a busy period because we carry out much of our field work. This year, my field work is taking place in two locations: Cerro de los Batallones Miocene fossil sites (Madrid Basin, Spain) and Doñana National Park (Southwest coast of Spain).
Cerro de los Batallones paleontological excavations are already over. This year, we excavated there between the 3rd and 23rd of July. Two sites were excavated simultaneously: Batallones-7, which was excavated for the first time, and Batallones-10, which has already been excavated for 12 years. Batallones-10 is therefore quite well known and an outstanding amount of equids, giraffids, rhinocerotids, and other herbivore fossil remains have been found there so far. At Batallones-10, we are almost 5 m below the original surface where we started the excavation. It could seem that we have not excavated such a great depth in these 12 years of excavation but our main digging tools are screwdrivers and brushes, so it is truly a great achievement!
One of the star fossils of this campaign was a complete and huge carapace of a giant tortoise. It makes the fourth giant tortoise already found at Batallones-10! We also found other fine fossils such as an articulated leg of a moschid, a juvenile giraffe mandible or different antelope bones.
IPC5 attendees
As in previous years, Bachelor's and Master's students of the Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences Degrees helped us with the excavation.
Right in the middle of the Batallones excavations, the 5th International Paleontological Congress (IPC5) took place. This meeting was held in Paris between the 9th and the 13th of July. I was able to attend to it and to present two contributions: a poster about our Scientific Reports' article about the ontogenetic radiological study of the hipparionine horses' mandibles from Batallones-10 and a talk about the preliminary results of the LiveDeadFossil project at Doñana National Park.
The field work of our actualistic taphonomy study at Doñana National Park will take place between the 8th and 23rd of September. We won't repeat the same transects that we surveyed last year. Instead, we have selected new ones. Our objective is to fulfill a total of 30 transects in two years of field work and, then, wait two or three years to repeat them again.
The preparation of this field work is time consuming because many things need to be taken into account. It is important to have all the permits in order since we are working in a protected and very restricted area. As in other field campaigns, logistics about the lodging, lunches, 4x4 vehicle, etc. also need to be very well arranged. Luckily, after our first field work at Doñana, in September of 2017, I feel more confident about moving inside the park. Probably, this is the most difficult aspect to me. Inside the park there are no roads, no towns and almost no signals so you can get lost easily. Besides, much of the driving occurs in loose sand which makes driving a challenge! Now, we are used to most of these aspects and we use offline maps on a tablet to find our way to the transects. In any case, having the opportunity to work in these formidable landscapes makes up for all the difficulties and challenges!!
So July was for Batallones excavations and for IPC5. September will be for Doñana field work. August is for me because tomorrow I'm starting my vacations! Have nice days and see you soon!
Right in the middle of the Batallones excavations, the 5th International Paleontological Congress (IPC5) took place. This meeting was held in Paris between the 9th and the 13th of July. I was able to attend to it and to present two contributions: a poster about our Scientific Reports' article about the ontogenetic radiological study of the hipparionine horses' mandibles from Batallones-10 and a talk about the preliminary results of the LiveDeadFossil project at Doñana National Park.
The field work of our actualistic taphonomy study at Doñana National Park will take place between the 8th and 23rd of September. We won't repeat the same transects that we surveyed last year. Instead, we have selected new ones. Our objective is to fulfill a total of 30 transects in two years of field work and, then, wait two or three years to repeat them again.
The preparation of this field work is time consuming because many things need to be taken into account. It is important to have all the permits in order since we are working in a protected and very restricted area. As in other field campaigns, logistics about the lodging, lunches, 4x4 vehicle, etc. also need to be very well arranged. Luckily, after our first field work at Doñana, in September of 2017, I feel more confident about moving inside the park. Probably, this is the most difficult aspect to me. Inside the park there are no roads, no towns and almost no signals so you can get lost easily. Besides, much of the driving occurs in loose sand which makes driving a challenge! Now, we are used to most of these aspects and we use offline maps on a tablet to find our way to the transects. In any case, having the opportunity to work in these formidable landscapes makes up for all the difficulties and challenges!!
So July was for Batallones excavations and for IPC5. September will be for Doñana field work. August is for me because tomorrow I'm starting my vacations! Have nice days and see you soon!
31 May 2018
RADIOGRAPHS ON MANDIBLES OF EXTINCT HORSES: NEW PAPER OUT!
We just published a new research about the Cerro de los Batallones exceptional fossils in Scientific Reports. The elevated number of mandibles with the cheek teeth still in place allowed us to describe for the first time with radiological techniques the dental ontogeny (mineralization, eruption and replacement patterns) of hipparionine horses. The 28 analized mandibles belong to the site of Batallones-10. This is one of the largest and best-preserved assemblages of extinct horses not only in Spain but also in Europe.
Horses constitute key taxa to investigate past terrestrial ecosystems because their fossils are very abundant in the Cenozoic fossil record, easily identifiable and represent wide geographic and temporal ranges.
In this work, we joined forces with veterinarians from the Complutense University and the Military Centre of Veterinary. This is the first time that a radiological study is performed on mandibles of fossil-horse individuals spanning from newborns to old individuals.
Like us, horses have milk teeth that are replaced only once in their lifetimes by permanent teeth. Nevertheless, horses have the peculiarity that only a small portion of the crown of their tall cheek teeth is in wear at any given time; crown reserves remain under the gum line and erupt gradually through the lifetime of the animal as the exposed part of the crown wears away. This is an adaptation to the ingestion of abrasive agents such as fibrous, tough vegetation (grasses) and soil grit. Radiographs and CT-scans enabled us to see what was going on inside the mandible of these horses, such as the mineralization ( = formation) of the teeth and the wear of the crown reserves.
We defined seven age classes represented at Batallones-10, from recently-born and yearling individuals to old individuals. The assemblage is dominated by infant and juvenile individuals (67.9% of the individuals). Besides, based on the presence of fossils of two horse foetuses discovered in the field seasons of 2016 and 2017, we have also inferred the presence of two pregnant female horses in the assemblage. All these individuals belong to groups with the highest risk of natural mortality and we believe that this fossil-horse accumulation was the result of a gradual mortality of weak individuals gathered around a water body during drought periods.
Stable isotope paleoecologists working with horse ancient dental enamel preferentially sample the p4 or the m3 because, based on the mineralization sequences known for modern horse teeth, these are the teeth that are less likely to be affected by the signal of the mother's milk and, therefore, they can be soundly used to infer the adult diets and the environmental conditions. Our study, corroborates for the first time with the direct observations performed on the fossil material from Batallones-10 that the p4 and m3 are also the last teeth to mineralize in ancient horses.
The order of eruption of cheek teeth is almost coincident in Hipparion sp. and Equus sp. equids but there is one difference: in Hipparion sp. the last cheek teeth to erupt is always the third molar (our wisdom tooth), whereas in Equus sp. either the third molar or fourth premolar can be the last cheek teeth to erupt. This fact could be linked to the shorter durability of the milk teeth in the Hipparionini horses and, more broadly, to the acquisition of a longer functionality of cheek teeth throughout the evolutionary history of horses as the height of cheek teeth increased in relation to the incorporation in their diets of tough and abrasive materials and the increment of their longevity.
This research was funded by National Geographic Society and the Spanish National R&D Programme.
Reference: Domingo, M.S., Cantero, E., García-Real, I., Chamorro-Sancho, M. J., Martín-Perea, D. M., Alberdi, M. T. & Morales, J. 2018. First radiological study of a complete dental ontogeny sequence of an extinct equid: implications for Equidae life history and taphonomy. Scientific Reports 8: 8507. https://rdcu.be/QZiz
RADIOGRAPHS ON MANDIBLES OF EXTINCT HORSES: NEW PAPER OUT!
We just published a new research about the Cerro de los Batallones exceptional fossils in Scientific Reports. The elevated number of mandibles with the cheek teeth still in place allowed us to describe for the first time with radiological techniques the dental ontogeny (mineralization, eruption and replacement patterns) of hipparionine horses. The 28 analized mandibles belong to the site of Batallones-10. This is one of the largest and best-preserved assemblages of extinct horses not only in Spain but also in Europe.
Horses constitute key taxa to investigate past terrestrial ecosystems because their fossils are very abundant in the Cenozoic fossil record, easily identifiable and represent wide geographic and temporal ranges.
In this work, we joined forces with veterinarians from the Complutense University and the Military Centre of Veterinary. This is the first time that a radiological study is performed on mandibles of fossil-horse individuals spanning from newborns to old individuals.
Like us, horses have milk teeth that are replaced only once in their lifetimes by permanent teeth. Nevertheless, horses have the peculiarity that only a small portion of the crown of their tall cheek teeth is in wear at any given time; crown reserves remain under the gum line and erupt gradually through the lifetime of the animal as the exposed part of the crown wears away. This is an adaptation to the ingestion of abrasive agents such as fibrous, tough vegetation (grasses) and soil grit. Radiographs and CT-scans enabled us to see what was going on inside the mandible of these horses, such as the mineralization ( = formation) of the teeth and the wear of the crown reserves.
We defined seven age classes represented at Batallones-10, from recently-born and yearling individuals to old individuals. The assemblage is dominated by infant and juvenile individuals (67.9% of the individuals). Besides, based on the presence of fossils of two horse foetuses discovered in the field seasons of 2016 and 2017, we have also inferred the presence of two pregnant female horses in the assemblage. All these individuals belong to groups with the highest risk of natural mortality and we believe that this fossil-horse accumulation was the result of a gradual mortality of weak individuals gathered around a water body during drought periods.
Stable isotope paleoecologists working with horse ancient dental enamel preferentially sample the p4 or the m3 because, based on the mineralization sequences known for modern horse teeth, these are the teeth that are less likely to be affected by the signal of the mother's milk and, therefore, they can be soundly used to infer the adult diets and the environmental conditions. Our study, corroborates for the first time with the direct observations performed on the fossil material from Batallones-10 that the p4 and m3 are also the last teeth to mineralize in ancient horses.
The order of eruption of cheek teeth is almost coincident in Hipparion sp. and Equus sp. equids but there is one difference: in Hipparion sp. the last cheek teeth to erupt is always the third molar (our wisdom tooth), whereas in Equus sp. either the third molar or fourth premolar can be the last cheek teeth to erupt. This fact could be linked to the shorter durability of the milk teeth in the Hipparionini horses and, more broadly, to the acquisition of a longer functionality of cheek teeth throughout the evolutionary history of horses as the height of cheek teeth increased in relation to the incorporation in their diets of tough and abrasive materials and the increment of their longevity.
This research was funded by National Geographic Society and the Spanish National R&D Programme.
Reference: Domingo, M.S., Cantero, E., García-Real, I., Chamorro-Sancho, M. J., Martín-Perea, D. M., Alberdi, M. T. & Morales, J. 2018. First radiological study of a complete dental ontogeny sequence of an extinct equid: implications for Equidae life history and taphonomy. Scientific Reports 8: 8507. https://rdcu.be/QZiz
18 January 2018
INAUGURACIÓN DE LA EXPOSICIÓN DE CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES
El pasado martes tuvo lugar la inauguración de la exposición acerca de los yacimientos paleontológicos del Cerro de los Batallones en el Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid (Alcalá de Henares). La exposición se titula “La colina de los tigres de dientes de sable. Los yacimientos miocenos del Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Comunidad de Madrid)” y estará abierta hasta septiembre de este año.
Ya han pasado más de 25 años desde el descubrimiento del primero de los yacimientos hallados en este cerro y esta exposición conmemora dicho aniversario mostrando algunos de los fósiles más espectaculares que se han encontrado en estos yacimientos. Muchos de los fósiles se muestran en esqueletos montados lo que nos da una idea de la excepcional preservación y de la abundancia de los restos. Es más, muchos de los esqueletos montados pertenecen a carnívoros cuyos fósiles son muy abundantes en el Cerro de los Batallones pero suelen ser bastante escasos en otros yacimientos.
Os animo a venir a conocer la exposición ya que es una gran oportunidad de conocer la fauna que habitaba la Península Ibérica hace 9 millones de años. Además, hay visitas guiadas los fines de semana a cargo de paleontólogas con amplia experiencia y que han excavado durante muchos años en estos yacimientos.
Más información: http://www.madrid.org/cs/Satellite?c=MUSE_Actividad_FA&cid=1354689069122&language=es&pageid=1161326540454&pagename=Museos%2FMUSE_Actividad_FA%2FMUSE_actividad
ENGLISH VERSION:
OPENING OF CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES EXHIBITION
Last Tuesday I attended the opening of the exhibition of the Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites at the Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid (Alcalá de Henares). The exhibition title is “The hill of the sabertoothed cats. The Cerro de los Batallones Miocene fossil sites (Torrejón de Velasco. Comunidad de Madrid)”. It will be opened until September.
Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites have now been excavated for more than 25 years and in this exhibition we can see some of the most spectacular fossils found there. Most of the fossils are shown in reconstructed skeletons which gives us an idea of the excellent preservation and abundance of the remains. What is more, many of the reconstructed individuals belong to carnivoran species whose fossils are usually rare in the fossil record compared to herbivores.
Come and visit the exhibition as it is a great opportunity to get to know the fauna that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula 9 million years ago! Besides there are free guided tours on the weekends led by paleontologists that have excavated at Cerro de los Batallones for many years.
More information: http://www.madrid.org/cs/Satellite?c=MUSE_Actividad_FA&cid=1354689069122&language=es&pageid=1161326540454&pagename=Museos%2FMUSE_Actividad_FA%2FMUSE_actividad
INAUGURACIÓN DE LA EXPOSICIÓN DE CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES
El pasado martes tuvo lugar la inauguración de la exposición acerca de los yacimientos paleontológicos del Cerro de los Batallones en el Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid (Alcalá de Henares). La exposición se titula “La colina de los tigres de dientes de sable. Los yacimientos miocenos del Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Comunidad de Madrid)” y estará abierta hasta septiembre de este año.
Ya han pasado más de 25 años desde el descubrimiento del primero de los yacimientos hallados en este cerro y esta exposición conmemora dicho aniversario mostrando algunos de los fósiles más espectaculares que se han encontrado en estos yacimientos. Muchos de los fósiles se muestran en esqueletos montados lo que nos da una idea de la excepcional preservación y de la abundancia de los restos. Es más, muchos de los esqueletos montados pertenecen a carnívoros cuyos fósiles son muy abundantes en el Cerro de los Batallones pero suelen ser bastante escasos en otros yacimientos.
Os animo a venir a conocer la exposición ya que es una gran oportunidad de conocer la fauna que habitaba la Península Ibérica hace 9 millones de años. Además, hay visitas guiadas los fines de semana a cargo de paleontólogas con amplia experiencia y que han excavado durante muchos años en estos yacimientos.
Más información: http://www.madrid.org/cs/Satellite?c=MUSE_Actividad_FA&cid=1354689069122&language=es&pageid=1161326540454&pagename=Museos%2FMUSE_Actividad_FA%2FMUSE_actividad
ENGLISH VERSION:
OPENING OF CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES EXHIBITION
Last Tuesday I attended the opening of the exhibition of the Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites at the Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid (Alcalá de Henares). The exhibition title is “The hill of the sabertoothed cats. The Cerro de los Batallones Miocene fossil sites (Torrejón de Velasco. Comunidad de Madrid)”. It will be opened until September.
Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites have now been excavated for more than 25 years and in this exhibition we can see some of the most spectacular fossils found there. Most of the fossils are shown in reconstructed skeletons which gives us an idea of the excellent preservation and abundance of the remains. What is more, many of the reconstructed individuals belong to carnivoran species whose fossils are usually rare in the fossil record compared to herbivores.
Come and visit the exhibition as it is a great opportunity to get to know the fauna that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula 9 million years ago! Besides there are free guided tours on the weekends led by paleontologists that have excavated at Cerro de los Batallones for many years.
More information: http://www.madrid.org/cs/Satellite?c=MUSE_Actividad_FA&cid=1354689069122&language=es&pageid=1161326540454&pagename=Museos%2FMUSE_Actividad_FA%2FMUSE_actividad
8 January 2018
NEW VIDEO ABOUT LiveDeadFossil PROJECT
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had great holidays!
This is a brief post to let you know that we filmed a video about our Marie Skłodowska-Curie LiveDeadFossil project (further information about this project is here).
We filmed this short video in response to the European Comission initiative ‘Showcase your Project!’ that aims at making known to the general public the EU-funded R&I projects.
The shoot of the video was posible thanks to the professional work of 1080 Wildlife Productions.
If you like it, don’t forget to click the like button!
NEW VIDEO ABOUT LiveDeadFossil PROJECT
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had great holidays!
This is a brief post to let you know that we filmed a video about our Marie Skłodowska-Curie LiveDeadFossil project (further information about this project is here).
We filmed this short video in response to the European Comission initiative ‘Showcase your Project!’ that aims at making known to the general public the EU-funded R&I projects.
The shoot of the video was posible thanks to the professional work of 1080 Wildlife Productions.
If you like it, don’t forget to click the like button!
16 October 2017
FIELD WORK AT DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
We carried out bone surveys at Doñana National Park (Andalusia, Spain) between the 9th and the 27th of September in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project. It was a very productive fieldwork as we were able to complete 20 transects in 9 different ecosystems that included marshes, dunes, riverbank, lake, beach, Vera ecotone, shrubland, pine woodland and prairie. I am really thankful to my paleontological colleagues Enrique Cantero, Paloma López, Adriana Oliver and David Martín Perea for all their help and good spirits in the field!
As I expected, most of the bones that we found belonged to the large mammal herbivorous taxa that inhabit Doñana National Park: red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, feral horses and cattle. In any event, we also found bones belonging to foxes, rodents, many kinds of birds and sea turtles.
Now, there is a lot of information that I need to process as bones were very abundant and we took many pieces of taphonomic information.
FIELD WORK AT DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
We carried out bone surveys at Doñana National Park (Andalusia, Spain) between the 9th and the 27th of September in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project. It was a very productive fieldwork as we were able to complete 20 transects in 9 different ecosystems that included marshes, dunes, riverbank, lake, beach, Vera ecotone, shrubland, pine woodland and prairie. I am really thankful to my paleontological colleagues Enrique Cantero, Paloma López, Adriana Oliver and David Martín Perea for all their help and good spirits in the field!
As I expected, most of the bones that we found belonged to the large mammal herbivorous taxa that inhabit Doñana National Park: red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, feral horses and cattle. In any event, we also found bones belonging to foxes, rodents, many kinds of birds and sea turtles.
Now, there is a lot of information that I need to process as bones were very abundant and we took many pieces of taphonomic information.
Mandible of a Hipparion sp. individual from Batallones-10.
30 August 2017
CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES 2017
It's been some time since I don't post but excavations and some holidays had me quite busy.
In 2017, Cerro de los Batallones paleontological excavations took place between the 5th and the 24th of July. We excavated silmutaneously three of the nine fossil sites known at Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid Basin, Spain). These three sites were Batallones-2, Batallones-3 and Batallones-10. Cerro de los Batallones sites contain very abundant and diverse fossils of Late Miocene vertebrates (mainly mammals).
Nine million years ago, there were a number of cavities or sinkholes at Cerro de los Batallones. These cavities had an upper entrance and mammals, mostly carnivores, entered looking for food and water but were unable to get out. This is how the Cerro de los Batallones lower level assemblages were formed. Carnivores are exceptionally abundant in those assemblages (>90% of the fossil remains), a very uncommon feature in the fossil record. The cavities filled up and, in the upper part of the stratigraphical sequence another type of assemblage formed. This is the upper level assemblage, where fossils of herbivore mammals such as hipparionine horses, giraffes or rhinoceroses are very abundant.
CERRO DE LOS BATALLONES 2017
It's been some time since I don't post but excavations and some holidays had me quite busy.
In 2017, Cerro de los Batallones paleontological excavations took place between the 5th and the 24th of July. We excavated silmutaneously three of the nine fossil sites known at Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid Basin, Spain). These three sites were Batallones-2, Batallones-3 and Batallones-10. Cerro de los Batallones sites contain very abundant and diverse fossils of Late Miocene vertebrates (mainly mammals).
Nine million years ago, there were a number of cavities or sinkholes at Cerro de los Batallones. These cavities had an upper entrance and mammals, mostly carnivores, entered looking for food and water but were unable to get out. This is how the Cerro de los Batallones lower level assemblages were formed. Carnivores are exceptionally abundant in those assemblages (>90% of the fossil remains), a very uncommon feature in the fossil record. The cavities filled up and, in the upper part of the stratigraphical sequence another type of assemblage formed. This is the upper level assemblage, where fossils of herbivore mammals such as hipparionine horses, giraffes or rhinoceroses are very abundant.
Part of Batallones-10 crew. From left to right: Iris Menéndez, myself, Enrique Cantero, María Ríos.
At Cerro de los Batallones excavations, I am in charge of the taphonomical research. In the last years, we have focused on the study of the upper level assemblages since we know less about their mode of formation. Batallones-10 is a great example of this type of assemblage. This year, we have unearthed beautifully preserved fossils at Batallones-10 and there are some highlights that include a foetus of Hipparion sp., a complete skull of a primitive hyaena, an articulated frog skeleton or a tortoise egg. I am showing you in the photo a complete mandible of an adult Hipparion sp., which is also an exceptional fossil but these mandibles are very common at Batallones-10!
Daily, we were a crew of around 40 people that included researchers and graduate and undergraduate students. Meteorological conditions were tough this year as we had many days of extreme heat. But we are tough people as well!
We celebrated Open Door Days on the 15th and 16th of July and they were a success. More than 300 people came to visit us and, through a guided tour and activities, they could learn what Paleontology is and what we, paleontologists, do.
I took some days off after the excavations but now I'm almost ready for fieldwork at Doñana National Park. There, we will be doing bone surveys in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project.
(To know more about Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites check out my Publications)
Daily, we were a crew of around 40 people that included researchers and graduate and undergraduate students. Meteorological conditions were tough this year as we had many days of extreme heat. But we are tough people as well!
We celebrated Open Door Days on the 15th and 16th of July and they were a success. More than 300 people came to visit us and, through a guided tour and activities, they could learn what Paleontology is and what we, paleontologists, do.
I took some days off after the excavations but now I'm almost ready for fieldwork at Doñana National Park. There, we will be doing bone surveys in the context of the LiveDeadFossil project.
(To know more about Cerro de los Batallones fossil sites check out my Publications)
Dave Schacht from National Geographic Society and Spanish NG grantees presenting NG Grants in Spain.
29 May 2017
PRESENTATION OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GRANTS IN SPAIN
During my field week at Doñana Nacional Park, I received an email from Belén Frías, Communications Director of FOX Iberia, to invite me to take part on the presentation of the National Geographic Grants in Spain. Dave Schacht, Vice President of Global Initiatives of National Geographic Society, was coming to Madrid with that purpose and they wanted to count on the presence of recent or current NG grantees.
I had the fortune of obtaining a NG grant in 2016. This grant was aimed at carrying out excavations and taphonomic fieldwork at the herbivore-rich Late Miocene fossil site of Batallones-10 (Cerro de los Batallones, Madrid Basin, Spain). Contrary to the carnivoran-rich fossil sites, herbivore-rich sites from this area still lack a solid explanation for the mode of formation of their impressive bone and individual accumulation. The grant also covered lab work aimed at analysing the stable isotope composition of the tooth enamel of the horses and giraffes from this site.
I had such a good experience being a NG grantee that, although I now live in Seville, I felt that I had to be there. The event took place the days 22 and 23 of May. I could not make it to be there the first day, when Mr. Schacht and the other grantees had a meeting at the Spanish Parliament to talk to politicians. The second day we had interviews and round tables with the main Spanish media at a beautiful hotel in Madrid downtown. It was a very different day for me and the other grantees! We had a day that must look quite alike the days that actresses and actors have when they present a movie! It was very interesting and I am happy that these grants are made more known to Spanish researchers, teachers, engineers, journalists... (a grantee does not need to be in academia).
PRESENTATION OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GRANTS IN SPAIN
During my field week at Doñana Nacional Park, I received an email from Belén Frías, Communications Director of FOX Iberia, to invite me to take part on the presentation of the National Geographic Grants in Spain. Dave Schacht, Vice President of Global Initiatives of National Geographic Society, was coming to Madrid with that purpose and they wanted to count on the presence of recent or current NG grantees.
I had the fortune of obtaining a NG grant in 2016. This grant was aimed at carrying out excavations and taphonomic fieldwork at the herbivore-rich Late Miocene fossil site of Batallones-10 (Cerro de los Batallones, Madrid Basin, Spain). Contrary to the carnivoran-rich fossil sites, herbivore-rich sites from this area still lack a solid explanation for the mode of formation of their impressive bone and individual accumulation. The grant also covered lab work aimed at analysing the stable isotope composition of the tooth enamel of the horses and giraffes from this site.
I had such a good experience being a NG grantee that, although I now live in Seville, I felt that I had to be there. The event took place the days 22 and 23 of May. I could not make it to be there the first day, when Mr. Schacht and the other grantees had a meeting at the Spanish Parliament to talk to politicians. The second day we had interviews and round tables with the main Spanish media at a beautiful hotel in Madrid downtown. It was a very different day for me and the other grantees! We had a day that must look quite alike the days that actresses and actors have when they present a movie! It was very interesting and I am happy that these grants are made more known to Spanish researchers, teachers, engineers, journalists... (a grantee does not need to be in academia).
Spanish NG grantees with Dave Schacht. First step: Reyes Alejano (University of Huelva) and I (Doñana Biological Station). Second step: David Velázquez (Autonomous University of Madrid) and Laura Domingo (Geosciences Institute).
From here, I want to encourage everybody having an idea or a story to tell to apply for a NG grant. The call is open all year round, they are easy to write and, if you are lucky to get one, it is very easy to manage them (contrary to other grants and projects when you end up doing more paperwork than research).
Thanks again to Dave Schacht, Vice President of Global Initiatives of National Geographic Society, and Belén Frías and Diana Pérez (from FOX Iberia) for having me in this presentation!
Info and links:
http://www.nationalgeographic.es/becas
http://www.abc.es/ciencia/abci-nuevos-exploradores-espanoles-national-geographic-society-201705232153_noticia.html
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2017/05/23/actualidad/1495559554_112329.html
http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20170523/422832468666/national-geographic-llama-a-los-investigadores-espanoles-a-participar-en-su-programa-de-becas.html
Thanks again to Dave Schacht, Vice President of Global Initiatives of National Geographic Society, and Belén Frías and Diana Pérez (from FOX Iberia) for having me in this presentation!
Info and links:
http://www.nationalgeographic.es/becas
http://www.abc.es/ciencia/abci-nuevos-exploradores-espanoles-national-geographic-society-201705232153_noticia.html
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2017/05/23/actualidad/1495559554_112329.html
http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20170523/422832468666/national-geographic-llama-a-los-investigadores-espanoles-a-participar-en-su-programa-de-becas.html
Catherine and I in Doñana National Park
22 May 2017
FIRST VISIT TO DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
Two weeks ago, we visited Doñana National Park to establish the areas for our bone survey transects/plots within the LiveDeadFossil project. Professor Catherine Badgley (University of Michigan), supervisor of this Marie Curie project, came from the United States to help out with this important part of the research.
The other supervisor of the project, Dr. Juan José Negro, and I had already established some potential areas using maps from the Park but the visit was necessary to determine if those spots were really the most adequate ones.
In the field, we counted on the help of David Paz and Miguel Ángel Bravo from the Doñana Biological Reserve. They have a deep knowledge of the Park so they helped us to find our transects and provided great advice and ideas (and gave me some clues about how to drive in loose sands).
As expected, we needed to relocate some of the transects that we had previously determined on the map. These relocations mainly occurred in transects where the vegetation was so abundant that it was almost impossible to walk in those areas.
FIRST VISIT TO DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK
Two weeks ago, we visited Doñana National Park to establish the areas for our bone survey transects/plots within the LiveDeadFossil project. Professor Catherine Badgley (University of Michigan), supervisor of this Marie Curie project, came from the United States to help out with this important part of the research.
The other supervisor of the project, Dr. Juan José Negro, and I had already established some potential areas using maps from the Park but the visit was necessary to determine if those spots were really the most adequate ones.
In the field, we counted on the help of David Paz and Miguel Ángel Bravo from the Doñana Biological Reserve. They have a deep knowledge of the Park so they helped us to find our transects and provided great advice and ideas (and gave me some clues about how to drive in loose sands).
As expected, we needed to relocate some of the transects that we had previously determined on the map. These relocations mainly occurred in transects where the vegetation was so abundant that it was almost impossible to walk in those areas.
Wild boar mandible in shrubland habitat (Doñana National Park)
We took GPS coordinates for 19 transects/plots. They cover the main depositional contexts and habitats of Doñana National Park: river side, marshes, beach, dunes, lake side, Vera ecotone, pine woods, shrublands, and meadows.
To sum up, it was a very productive week that has allowed me to obtain essential information for the main fieldwork period that will take place in September. And we already found some bones!
To sum up, it was a very productive week that has allowed me to obtain essential information for the main fieldwork period that will take place in September. And we already found some bones!
Skull and mandible of the sabertoothed cat Machairodus aphanistus from Batallones-1. Scale, 4 cm.
15 May 2017
NEW PAPER OUT!
Our last article, entitled "Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene extinction episode", has been just published in the journal Palaeontology.
In this article, we study the habitat and resource use and trophic relationships of Late Miocene mammals by means of stable isotope analyses on tooth enamel (d13C and d18O). Stable isotope analyses are a widespread tool used by paleontologist to extract information about the paleoecology of extinct organisms and the habitat where they lived.
Most of the stable isotope analyses of Neogene mammalian fauna are performed on herbivore taxa as they are abundant in fossil sites. In turn, our knowledge about the ecology of extinct carnivorans and past predator-prey interactions is limited as a consequence of the rarity of carnivore remains in the fossil record. Only exceptional fossil sites contain carnivore remains in quantities large enough to allow sound stable isotope analyses.
In this article, we present stable isotope analysis results from two emblematic fossil sites in Spain: Los Valles de Fuentidueña (9.6 Ma) and Cerro de los Batallones (9.1 Ma). This sites stand out for the exceptional abundance of carnivore fossils belonging to sabertooth cats, amphicyonids, ursids, barbourobelids and hyaenids.
The period of time spanned by these two sites is very interesting as it represents the beginning of an enviromental shift associated to a change in the precipitation seasonality (Vallesian-Turolian boundary) that entailed the establishment of dryer conditions in the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, this shift has been claimed in previous works as the driver of the change in the faunal associations at this time period in the Iberian Peninsula. So apart from analyzing the resourse use and trophic relationships of mammals, we also wanted to test whether this environmental change was already observable between the two sites studied. This would allow to better constrain the timing of this environmental shift.
NEW PAPER OUT!
Our last article, entitled "Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene extinction episode", has been just published in the journal Palaeontology.
In this article, we study the habitat and resource use and trophic relationships of Late Miocene mammals by means of stable isotope analyses on tooth enamel (d13C and d18O). Stable isotope analyses are a widespread tool used by paleontologist to extract information about the paleoecology of extinct organisms and the habitat where they lived.
Most of the stable isotope analyses of Neogene mammalian fauna are performed on herbivore taxa as they are abundant in fossil sites. In turn, our knowledge about the ecology of extinct carnivorans and past predator-prey interactions is limited as a consequence of the rarity of carnivore remains in the fossil record. Only exceptional fossil sites contain carnivore remains in quantities large enough to allow sound stable isotope analyses.
In this article, we present stable isotope analysis results from two emblematic fossil sites in Spain: Los Valles de Fuentidueña (9.6 Ma) and Cerro de los Batallones (9.1 Ma). This sites stand out for the exceptional abundance of carnivore fossils belonging to sabertooth cats, amphicyonids, ursids, barbourobelids and hyaenids.
The period of time spanned by these two sites is very interesting as it represents the beginning of an enviromental shift associated to a change in the precipitation seasonality (Vallesian-Turolian boundary) that entailed the establishment of dryer conditions in the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, this shift has been claimed in previous works as the driver of the change in the faunal associations at this time period in the Iberian Peninsula. So apart from analyzing the resourse use and trophic relationships of mammals, we also wanted to test whether this environmental change was already observable between the two sites studied. This would allow to better constrain the timing of this environmental shift.
Left hemimandible of the ursid Indarctos arctoides from Batallones-3. Scale, 5 cm.
The predator-prey evaluation by means of stable isotope analysis, mixing model output, and the assessment of niche occupation point that carnivores at Cerro de los Batallones and Los Valles de Fuentidueña intensively competed for the resources (prey). This is evidenced by the overlap of their stable isotope signals. Only the amphicyonid Magericyon and the hyaenid Lycyaena partitioned the resources by taking prey from more open habitat.
Herbivore and carnivore d13C and d18O values do not point to significant changes in either the vegetation cover (a woodland to mesic C3 grassland existed at the two sites) or the hydrological regime during the time lapse represented between the two sites. This suggests that Los Valles de Fuentidueña and Cerro de los Batallones date from a period of time at the onset of the the environmental shift recorded around the Vallesian-Turolian boundary.
Reference:
Domingo, L, Domingo, MS, Koch, PL, Morales, J, Alberdi, MT, 2017. Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene faunal turnover episode. Palaeontology. doi:10.5061/dryad.f84r
Herbivore and carnivore d13C and d18O values do not point to significant changes in either the vegetation cover (a woodland to mesic C3 grassland existed at the two sites) or the hydrological regime during the time lapse represented between the two sites. This suggests that Los Valles de Fuentidueña and Cerro de los Batallones date from a period of time at the onset of the the environmental shift recorded around the Vallesian-Turolian boundary.
Reference:
Domingo, L, Domingo, MS, Koch, PL, Morales, J, Alberdi, MT, 2017. Carnivoran resource and habitat use in the context of a Late Miocene faunal turnover episode. Palaeontology. doi:10.5061/dryad.f84r
