Professor of Geology
Department of Geology
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0013
telephone 513-556-4530
e-mail
David.Meyer@UC.EDU
Education
B.S., University of Michigan, 1966
Ph.D., Yale University, 1970 |
15-GEOL-521-Paleontology
15-GEOL-695-Paleoecology
15-GEOL-351-Age of Dinosaurs
15-GEOL-526-Geology & Biology of Coral Reefs
15-GEOL-822-Paleontology Seminar
15-GEOL-163- Planet Earth
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My research interests lie chiefly in the field of invertebrate paleontology,
but extend to coral reef ecology, paleoecology, and taphonomy.
Specifically, I am concerned with paleobiology, the study of such aspects
of ancient organisms as ecology and functional morphology, in relation
to the evolutionary history of organisms. I am particularly interested
in the Phylum Echinodermata, especially the crinoids, which have a long
and diverse fossil record. My research is divided between studies of present-day
echinoderms and fossil forms. My research on living crinoids involves
the use of SCUBA and submersible diving in regions of the Caribbean and
Western Pacific.
Most recently I have visited the Caribbean islands of Curaçao
and Bonaire to pursue a new line of research into coral reef ecology and
paleoecology. The lush reefs of these islands are located close to the
South American continent in a region where hurricanes rarely hit. Masters
student Jill Bries conducted a study of damage to these reefs resulting
from an unusual 1999 storm, Hurricane Lenny. Her work led me to examine
Pleistocene reefs preserved there and to compare them with other Pleistocene
reefs across the Caribbean. In collaboration with former student Ben Greenstein,
we are investigating preservation potential of reefs in regions experiencing
different histories of hurricane disturbance.
Paleontological research includes studies of crinoids of Ordovician age
from the Cincinnati Arch region, Mississippian crinoids from Kentucky,
and Cretaceous crinoids from the western U.S. As part of a larger project
on high-resolution stratigraphy of the Upper Ordovician strata of the
Cincinnati Arch region (in collaboration with A. Miller, S. Holland, and
B. Dattilo), I am using crinoid columnals identified to genus to trace
taxa through shoaling-upward carbonate and clastic sequences. On the basis
of crinoid distribution within these sequences I am investigating the
relationship of feeding morphology to facies changes and smaller-scale
cyclic patterns. In collaboration with Richard A. Davis I am preparing
a book on the general paleontology of the fossil-rich Ordovician strata
of the Cincinnati area.
Work continues on Mississippian carbonate mounds in the Fort Payne Fm.
of Kentucky and Tennessee and their associated crinoids in collaboration
with W. Ausich. We are continuing to refine our species-level taxonomy
for this diverse fauna in an effort to achieve a definitive understanding
of community composition and facies relationships. Masters student Rich
Krause completed his thesis in 2002 on the sequence stratigraphy and paleoecology
of a recently exposed carbonate mound complex in Kentucky.
The enigmatic “floating” crinoid Uintacrinus is the subject
of my ongoing research on Cretaceous crinoids, in collaboration with C.
Milsom and former graduate student Andrew Webber. On the basis of new
discoveries in the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas and Mancos Shale of Colorado,
as well as examination of superb older collections in museums across the
U.S. and abroad we are discovering new evidence on the mode of life and
taphonomy of this stemless crinoid, long thought to be a pelagic form.
A paper was published in Palaios in 2001.
Recent publications:
Holland, S.M., Miller, A.I., and Meyer, D.L. 2000. High-resolution correlation
in apparently monotonous rocks: Upper Ordovician Kope Formation, Cincinnati
Arch. Palaios, 15:73-80.
Holland, S.M., Miller, A.I.,Meyer, D.L., and Dattilo, B.F, 2001. The detection
and importance of subtle biofacies within a single lithofacies: the Upper
Ordoviciian Kope Formation of the Cincinnati, Ohio region. Palaios, 16:205-217.
Holland, S.M., Miller, A.I.,Meyer, D.L., and Dattilo, B.F., 2001. The
use of faunal gradient analysis for high-resolution correlation and assessment
of changes in seafloor topography in the type Cincinnatian. Journal of
Geology, 109:600-613.
Meyer, D.L., and Milsom, C.V., 2001. Microbial sealing in the biostratinomy
of Uintacrinus Lagerstätten in the Upper Cretaceous of Kansas and
Colorado, USA. Palaios, 16:535-546.
Lask, P.B. and Meyer, D.L., 2001. A comparison of current and previous
surveys of comatulid crinoid populations at Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles.
p. 117-120 in Barker, M. (ed.), Echinoderms 2000, Proceedings of the 10th
International Conference, Dunedin. Balkema, Lisse, The Netherlands.
Meyer, D.L., Miller, A.I., Holland, S.M. and Dattilo ,B.F., 2002. Crinoid
distribution and feeding morphology through a depositional sequence: Kope
and Fairview Formations, Upper Ordovician, Cincinnati Arch region. Journal
of Paleontology, 76(4):725-732.
Meyer, D. L., Bries, J. M., Greenstein, B. J., and Debrot, A. O., 2003.
Preservation of in situ reef framework in regions of low hurricane frequency:
Pleistocene of Curaçao and Bonaire, southern Caribbean. Lethaia,
36, (3):273-285.
Bries J.M., Debrot, A. O., and Meyer, D. L., 2004. Damage to the leeward
reefs of Curaçao and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles from a rare
storm event: Hurricane Lenny, November, 1999. Coral Reefs, 23(2):297-307.
Krause, R. A., Jr., and Meyer, D. L. 2004. Sequence stratigraphy and
depositional dynamics of carbonate buildups and associated facies from
the Lower Mississippian Fort Payne Formation of southern Kentucky, U.S.A.
Journal of Sedimentary Research 74, (6):87–100.
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