Dr. Robert Feranec

Director of Research and Collections, Curator of Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleontology
robert.feranec@nysed.gov
518-474-5819

While my interests encompass a broad scope of topics including influences on biogeography, causes of speciation and adaptive radiation, and triggers of extinction, my research has been focused at describing the evolution of ecology in mammals.  My research concentrates on examining ecology in mammals from short time scales (seasons) to very long time scales (millions of years). 

In order to understand ecology of fossil mammals, the modern quantitative and analytical techniques I employ include stable isotope geochemistry, utilization of bioinformatics databases, and computer-based imaging of fossils which permits quantitative analysis of various morphological features.  Fieldwork is also an important aspect of my research program, and I have conducted or participated in excavations in the U.S. and Spain. 

Typical questions addressed in my research include:

How does climate change effect ecology?
Does ecology change during development?
Does immigration/dispersal of new species affect ecology?
Does extinction/extirpation of species affect ecology?

I am interested and open to collaboration within and beyond North America.  Potential collaborators, including current or potential graduate students, are encouraged to email me.

Publications

2008

R. Feranec 2008, Growth Differences in the Saber-Tooth of Three Field Species, Palaios 23, 566-569. 10.2110/palo.2007.p07-079r
R. Feranec 2008, Mortal Combat: How the Cohoes Mastodon Died. Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum 4, 7
R. Feranec 2008, Who Dunnit? What Caused the End-Pleistocene Extinction in North America?. Dig 10, 28-29
R. Feranec 2008, Using Stable Isotopes as an Additional Tool to Understand Ancient Human Environments, Coloquios de Paleontologia 58, 7-11.

2007

R. Feranec, E.A. Hadly, A. Paytan 2007, Determining Landscape Use of Holocene Mammals Using Strontium Isotopes, Oecologia 153, 943-950. 10.1007/s00442-007-0779-y
R. Feranec 2007, Stable Carbon Isotope Values Reveal Evidence of Resource Partitioning Among Ungulates from Modern C3-dominated Ecosystems in North America, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 252, 575-585. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.05.012
R. Feranec, E.A. Hadly, J.L. Blois, A.D. Barnosky, A. Paytan 2007, Radiocarbon Dates from the Pleistocene Fossil Deposits of Samwell Cave, Shasta County, California, USA, Radiocarbon 49, 117-121.
R. Feranec 2007, Ecological Generalization During Adaptive Radiation: Evidence from Neogene Mammals, Evolutionary Ecology Research 9, 555-577.

2006

R. Feranec 2006, My, What Big Teeth You Have!. Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum 2, 6
R. Feranec 2006, What Became of the MegaFauna?. American Scientist 94, 279-280