Ph.D. Candidate in Geology
222 Dickinson Hall
Museum Road & Newell Drive
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-1821
Email: akh@ufl.edu
B.S. in Geosciences, Penn State University, 2005
Research Interests
Broadly speaking, I am interested in questions regarding paleobiogeography, ecology, cladistics, and functional morphology, particularly of crocodilians. The order Crocodylomorpha is represented today by a fairly conservative body plan, yet in the fossil record crocodilians had a remarkable diversity not only in number of species, but occupying numerous ecological roles, completely different from their modern relatives. Crocodilians are also intimately connected to climate, and as such are useful indicators of paleoenvironment. I am also interested in evolutionary turnover and replacement of large clades within a broader evolutionary context, especially within Crocodylomorpha.
Dissertation Title
Primary Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jonathan I. Bloch
Ecology, Paleobiogeography, and Diversity of a New Crocodyliform Assemblage in Ancient Tropical South America
My dissertation project involves the description, analysis, and taxonomy of three new crocodyliforms from a new site in northeastern Colombia, as well as the description of crocodyliform fossils from several sites in central Colombia. Furthermore, I will place all postcranial material within not only phylogenetic sense but also with respect to their functional morphology. Following this I will analyze the new material using geometric morphometrics in order to determine their paleoecological roles via comparison to modern crocodyliforms of known ecology. All of this will contribute to the broader understanding of tropical crocodilian ecology where modern crocodilian diversity is at its highest.
Representative Publications
Hastings, A.K., J.I. Bloch, E.A. Cadena, and C.A. Jaramillo. In press. A new small short-snouted dyrosaurid (Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Paleocene of Northeastern Colombia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Hastings, A., B. MacFadden, A. Rincon, C. Montes, and C. Jaramillo. 2009. Filling in the Central American crocodile gap: Evidence from the middle Cenozoic of Panama. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (3, Suppl.):111-112A.
Head, J. J., J. I. Bloch, A. K. Hastings, J. R. Bourque, E. A. Cadena, F. A. Herrera, P. D. Polly, and C. A. Jaramillo. 2009. Giant boid snake from the Paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures. Nature 457:715-718.
Bloch, J., E. Cadena, A. Hastings, A. Rincon, and C. Jaramillo. 2008. Vertebrate faunas from the Paleocene of Bogotá Formation of Northern Colombia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28 (3, Suppl.):53A.
Hastings, A., and J. Bloch. 2008. New long-snouted dyrosaurid (Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Paleocene of Northeastern Colombia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28 (3, Suppl.):89A.
Hastings, A., J. Bloch, and R. Hulbert. 2006. Evidence for a prehensile tail in a late Pliocene porcupine skeleton from north-central Florida. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3, Suppl.):73A.
Grants, Honors, and Awards Received
2009, University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Nichol Award
2008, Doris O. and Samuel P. Welles Research Fund Student Travel Grant
2007, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Student Travel Grant
2007, 2008, & 2009, University of Florida Graduate Student Council Travel Grant
2007, Geological Society of America Graduate Student Research Grant
2006, R. Jerry Britt, Jr. Paleobiology Award
2006, Ken Ericson Scholarship
2006, Southwest Florida Fossil Club Student Scholarship