Prehistoric Seafood Boil

This exhibit was created by AJ Robinson for GEL 198 at UCD during Fall 2025 and Winter 2026.

Educational display featuring marine life and habitat information, with illustrations and labels.

References

  • Baumiller, Tomasz K. 2008. “Crinoid Ecological Morphology.” Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 36 (1): 221–49. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.36.031207.124116.

    • This paper is an excellent example of how paleobiologists conduct analyses of a species to infer how it lived. Crinoids exemplify this well due to their rich fossil record and living relatives.

  • Bush, Andrew M., and Richard K. Bambach. 2011. “Paleoecologic Megatrends in Marine Metazoa.” Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 39 (May): 241–69. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152556.

    • Bush and Bambach’s study of a huge range of data on marine invertebrate specimens across the phanerozoic assesses the key trends in how these organisms have evolved over time. They have seen general patterns of increases in motility, predation, and depth within the sediment.

  • Bush, Andrew M., Richard K. Bambach, and Gwen M. Daley. 2007. “Changes in Theoretical Ecospace Utilization in Marine Fossil Assemblages between the Mid-Paleozoic and Late Cenozoic.” Paleobiology 33 (1): 76–97. https://doi.org/10.1666/06013.1.

    • This is the key paper which the exhibit is based on. It develops the concept of an ecospace from the analysis of large groups of data on marine invertebrate fossils, in order to categorize how they lived. The graph-like design of the exhibit is based on the authors’ ecospace grid.

  • Droser, Mary L., Richard A. Fortey, and Xing Li. 1996. “The Ordovician Radiation.” American Scientist 84 (2): 122–31.

    • The paper provides an overview and basic information on the Ordovician radiation and its significance. Impacts of the radiation can be seen in the prevalence and diversity of species during this time.

  • Murray, John W., ed. 1985. Atlas of Invertebrate Macrofossils. A Halsted Press Book. Wiley u.a.

    • The atlas provided supplemental references for identifying and describing specimens in the exhibit.

  • Novack-Gottshall, Philip M. 2007. “Using a Theoretical Ecospace to Quantify the Ecological Diversity of Paleozoic and Modern Marine Biotas.” Paleobiology 33 (2). https://doi.org/10.1666/06054.1.

    • Novack-Gottshall’s work supplements the concept of the ecospace as a method for exploring greater trends in paleobiology and evolution.