Systematics and paleoecology of northern Great Basin Mylagaulidae (Mammalia: Rodentia)

• Main Author: Calede, Jonathan J., 1988-
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Oregon 2011
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11435

xx, 281 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. === Burrowing rodents are important ecosystem engineers in today's environments. The fossil record offers the opportunity to study patterns and processes in the evolution of the burrowing rodent guild through the Cenozoic. During the Miocene, this guild was very diverse, including numerous families ranging in ecology from semi-fossorial to subterranean. I use the emblematic family Mylagaulidae, a group of subterranean rodents, to test hypotheses of abiotic and biotic controls on mammalian evolution with the goal of better understanding turnover in the composition of the fossorial rodent guild in the Miocene of the Great Basin. I investigate the relative contributions of climate and biotic interactions to the purported intraguild competition between mylagaulids and geomyids with an emphasis on differences and similarities in patterns of occurrence and diet. Patterns of site occupancy and microwear suggest the importance of habitat changes in driving changes in guild composition among burrowers. === Committee in charge: Dr. Samantha S.B. Hopkins, Chair; Dr. Madonna Moss; Dr. Gregory J. Retallack