Blog 20: Fourth Interview Questions

The picture above is that of a sauropod (long-neck) known as Brachiosaurus. Brachiosaurus was actually the second dinosaur to be seen by viewers of the film Jurassic Park. The expert I want to interview, Dr. Mathew Wedel, is a foremost expert in this kind of dinosaur.

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

- I plan on interviewing Dr. Mathew Wedel, who is a very well respected paleontologist that specializes in sauropod dinosaurs (long-necks). 

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

1.) In your experience, what has helped you the most with reconstructing the appearance of sauropods?
2.) What were sauropods like in real life? How do you know all of that?
3.) When you reconstruct a sauropod's coloration, what do you normally use to justify your rendition?
4.) Did sauropods have feathers? How do you know this? 
5.) How were sauropod's able to mate? What evidence is there to support what you are saying?
6.) What does the Sauropod's phylogenetic relationship with Theropods indicate about them?
7.)  Did sauropods display to possible mates? What evidence is there to back that up?
8.) What purpose did the necks of sauropod's serve? What kind of evidence supports that view?
9.) Are there any signs of developmental change within young sauropods from fossilized remains?
10.) Are there any other paleontologists that disagree with your views on sauropods? What evidence have they used?
11.) In your experience, how valuable are fossils when trying to reconstruct the life of sauropods? 
12.) What aspects of a creature's life do fossils reveal, other than their appearance?
13.) Do specific types of fossils reveal more information than others?
14.) Is the context a fossil is found valuable? How so?
15.) What sort of information has the context of fossils you've found revealed about sauropods?
16.) What role does phylogenetic context play in your work? What kind of information does it give you?
17.) Has comparative anatomy aided you in your work with sauropods? What exactly has it revealed about them?
18.) How can phylogenetic context and comparative anatomy be used in conjunction with each other? Have you used this in your work?
19.) How effective is collaboration with other scientists in your work?
20.) How can a paleontologist best reconstruct the life of a prehistoric creature?

Blog 19: Third Answer

The picture above shows a phylogenetic tree which I am using in my second independent component as a justification for feathers. The dinosaur I am reconstructing is called Allosaurus and it belongs to the grouping called Allosauridae, which is very closely related to a broader group of theropods called Coelursauria where a lot of theropods have been found to have feathers. 

EQ:

How can a paleontologist best reconstruct the life of a prehistoric creature?

Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement):

A paleontologist can effectively reconstruct the life of a prehistoric creature by using both phylogenetic context and the comparative method in conjunction with each other or separately.

3 details to support the answer:

- When a creature's phylogenetic context is used by paleontologists, it looks at what other animals, extinct or alive, are closely related to the subject species and what that relationship might reveal about things like appearance, behavior, and diet.

- When a paleontologist uses the comparative method, they are typically looking at the fossilized bones of creatures and comparing them with like creatures and using comparison to postulate with some level of certainty where  muscles were attached or even what color feather-like structures had. 

- Paleontologists that use a creature's phylogenetic context to find closely related species with whom to use the comparative method on can produce very reliable results and provide more information about an ancient creature's life.

The research source(s) to support your details and answer:

- "Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina." This source actually came from the research I was conducting for my Independent Component 2, it reports about how certain features on a species of dinosaur suggest that it may have had the air sacs that birds today use to breath much more efficiently than mammals. The specific group of dinosaurs that this was found on is very closely related to the dinosaur I will be reconstructing, called Allosaurus, which suggests that there is a very real possibility that this anatomical feature was present in the group that contains Allosaurus. This phylogenetic context provides a strong connection between Allosaurus and more bird-like features like primitive feathering.

- "Extreme Dinosaurs" This source talks about a recent discovery of a predator larger than Tyrannosaurus rex, but uses a group of dinosaurs closely related to Tyrannosaurus as a phylogenetic context to justify pack hunting behavior.

- "Flexibility Along the Neck of the Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) and Consequences for the Reconstruction of Dinosaurs with Extreme Neck Length" This source uses the comparative method to compare fossils of long-necked dinosaurs, sauropods, with modern Ostriches, who have very long necks. Through this analysis paleontologists determined positions that would've been more realistically achievable for sauropod neck, thus helping to reconstruct the animal's life.

Concluding Sentence:

Phylogenetic context and the comparative method while being useful on their own for the reconstruction of prehistoric life can be combined to get very reliable and realistic information about the way ancient creatures both behaved and looked like.