Research on the Bear Gulch Limestone (Lagerstaate) and Related Analyses

Research mentor: Dr. Eileen Grogan

Research interests: the origin, evolution, and diversification of early vertebrates; chondrichthyan anatomy, biology, ecology; the biology of vertebrate skeletal tissues, especially chondrichthyan; Paleozoic marine community and geological analyses .

Research on the Bear Gulch Limestone and Related Analyses

Research in the Grogan lab is fundamentally centralized around the 318 million years old fossiliferous Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana (Upper Mississippian, Serpukohvian) for which over 5300 specimens are available for study. The Bear Gulch is a Konservat-Lagerstätte, known for the diversity and quality of preservation of its fauna (invertebrate and vertebrate) and flora. It record various facies (ecological zones) of a shallow, tropical marine bay during the peak of diversity known for cartilaginous fishes. Thus, areas of study are not restricted to the phylogenetic analyses of the diverse fauna of Bear Gulch fossil fishes (agnathans, Acanthodii, Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii). Other areas of research extend to studies of early / lower vertebrate development, embryology, and histology, in addition to the environmental geology and community structure of this Paleozoic bay. Depending upon the project, research efforts may be lab or lab and field based. Current projects under development include CT-scan analyses of hard and soft tissues preserved in Bear Gulch fossils and stress:strain studies on the jaw cartilages of the extant Squalus acanthias. A more expansive description of the Bear Gulch Research Project is found at www.sju.edu/research/bear_gulch/. Interested applicants are advised to consult this site before submitting a letter or email of interest or inquiry. In submitting a letter of application for a post-doctoral/ Visiting Assistant Professor position in this lab, the applicant must identify how his/her research interests and training would best match/interleave with that of this lab.

Contact information:

Dr. Eileen Grogan
Email: egrogan@sju.edu
Mailing address:
Biology Department
5600 city Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19131
Phone: 610-660-1824