Staff Spotlight
Dr. Bruce J. MacFadden
Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
218 Dickinson Hall
Museum Road & Newell Drive
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-1937
Email: bmacfadd@flmnh.ufl.edu
Ph.D. Columbia University, 1976
FLMNH Vertebrate Paleontology Collection
Concurrent Appointments
Professor of Geological Sciences, Latin American Studies, and Zoology
Research Interests
- Fossil vertebrates, stable isotopes, and global change, with emphasis on paleobiology, macroevolution, and paleoecology of Neogene mammals (particularly herbivores) of the Americas
- Diagenesis of fossil bones and teeth, including sharks and edentates
- Informal science education and broader impacts of natural history museums
Collection-related Activities
- Field work related to active research projects in Florida, Nebraska, Panama and South America
- Collections acquisition in Florida and Nebraska
- Educational outreach to Florida fossil clubs
Courses Taught
ZOO 4926, 6927; GLY 6932; Vertebrate Macroevolution
ZOO 6927; Stable Isotopes and Trace Elements in Ecology and Evolution
Graduate Students
Larisa Grawe, Ph.D. Candidate, Zoology
Email: lgrawe - add "@ufl.edu" for full address
- Determining veretational density in past environments using stable isotopes of tapir teeth. Understanding effects of diet on morphological plasticity of the masticatory complex in mammals
Jonathan Hoffman, M.S. Candidate, Geology
Email: hoffmanj - add "@ufl.edu" for full address
- Using stable isotopes, pollen, and phytoliths to assess the presence of grasses in the northern Florida panhandle region during the Miocene.
Joann Labs, Ph.D. Candidate, Geology
Email: jlabs - add "@ufl.edu" for full address
- Quantifying diagenesis in Cenozoic lamnoid shark vertebral centra. How diagenesis effects the oxygen isotope signals preserved in the fossil bone.
Representative Publications
MacFadden, B. J., M. X. Kirby, A. Rincon, C. Montes, S. Moron, N. Strong, and C. A. Jaramillo. 2010. Extinct peccary "Cynorca" occidentale (Tayassuidae, Tayassuinae) from the Miocene of Panama and correlations to North America. Journal of Paleontology 84(2):288-298.
MacFadden, B. J., L. R. G. DeSantis, J. Labs Hochstein, and G. D. Kamenov. 2010. Physical properties, geochemistry, and diagenesis of xenarthran teeth: prospects for interpreting the paleoecology of extinct species. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.02.021
Schubert, B. W., R. C. Hulbert, Jr., B. J. MacFadden, M. Searle, and S. Searle. 2010. Giant short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) in Pleistocene Florida USA, a substantial range extension. Journal of Paleontology 84(1):79-87.
MacFadden, B. J. 2009. Did Bison occur in the late Pliocene (late Blancan) of Florida? Evidence from rare earth element analysis; pp. 371-581 in L. B. Albright III (ed.), Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology, and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65. Flagstaff, Arizona.
DeSantis, L. R. G., R. S. Feranec, and B. J. MacFadden. 2009. Effects of global warming on ancient mammalian communities and their environments. PLoS ONE 4(6):e5750. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005750.
MacFadden, B. J. 2009. Three-toed browsing horse Anchitherium (Equidae) from the Miocene of Panama. Journal of Paleontology 83(3):489-492.
Ehret, D. J., G. Hubbell, and B. J. MacFadden. 2009. Exceptional preservation of the white shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes, Lamnidae) from the early Pliocene of Peru. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(1):1-13.
MacFadden, B. J., and R. C. Hulbert. 2009. Calibration of mammoth (Mammuthus) dispersal into North America using rare earth elements of Plio-Pleistocene mammals from Florida. Quaternary Research 71(1):41–48.
MacFadden, B. J. 2008. Geographic variation in diets of ancient populations of 5-million-year-old (early Pliocene) horses from southern North America. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 266:83-94.
Kirby, M. X., D. S. Jones, and B. J. MacFadden. 2008. Lower Miocene stratigraphy along the Panama Canal and its bearing on the Central American Peninsula. PLoS ONE 3(7):e2791, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002791.
Kirby, M. X. and B. J. MacFadden. 2008. Was southern Central America an archipelago or a peninsula in the middle Miocene? A test using land-mammal body size. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 228:193-202.
Zanazzo, A., M. J. Kohn, B. J. MacFadden, and D. O. Terry. 2007. Large temperature drop across the Eocene-Oligocene transition in central North America. Nature 445:639-642.
MacFadden, B. J., J. Labs-Hochstein, R. C. Hulbert, and J. A. Baskin. 2007. Revised age of the late Neogene terror bird (Titanis) in North America during the Great American Interchange. Geology 35(2):123-126.
MacFadden, B. J. 2006. North American Miocene land mammals from Panama. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3):720-734.
MacFadden, B. J., and G. S. Morgan. 2003. New oreodont (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Oligocene (early Arikareean) of Florida. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279:368-396.
MacFadden, B. J., Higgins, M. Clementz, and D. S. Jones. 2004. Diets, habitat preferences, and niche differentiation of Cenozoic sirenians from Florida: Evidence from stable isotopes. Paleobiology 30:297-324.
MacFadden, B. J, J. Labs, I. Quitmyer, and D. S. Jones. 2004. Incremental growth and diagenesis of skeletal parts of the lamnoid shark Otodus obliquus from the early Eocene (Ypresian) of Morocco. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 206:179-192.
Higgins, P. and B.J. MacFadden. 2004. "Amount Effect" recorded in oxygen isotopes of Late Glacial horse (Equus) and bison (Bison) teeth from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, southwestern United States. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 206:337-353.
MacFadden, B. J. and P. Higgins. 2004. Ancient ecology of 15 million-year-old browsing mammals within C3 plant communities from Panama. Oecologia 140:169-182.
Gould, G. C., and B. J. MacFadden. 2004. Gigantism, dwarfism, and Cope's rule: "Nothing in evolution makes sense without a phylogeny." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 285:219-237.
Current External Funding
| 2000-2005 | Late Pleistocene latitudinal gradients in North America interpreted from stable isotopes of fossil Equus teeth,: NSF EAR-9909186, Geology & Paleontology, PI/PD. | $246,812 |
| 2002-2004 | Enhancing natural history museum visitor understanding of evolution: A national conference, NSF, Informal Science Education, PI, ESI 0138030 | $144,847 |
| 2004-2008 | Macroevolution and geochemistry of Cenozoic giant sharks, NSF, Geology & Paleontology, PI/PD. | $274,747 |