psmayer

Paul Mayer

Paul at the summit of South Sister, a 10,000 foot volcano in the Oregon Cascades.	Paul received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and his Masters of Science degree in geology from Oregon State University. Paul worked as the Geology Collections Manager and as a Geology Curator at the Milwaukee Public Museum for nearly 10 years. Currently he is working on his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Paul's current research is focused on the paleoecology of Middle Devonian brachiopod dominated communities. Paul’s research has three main objectives: Build a database of brachiopod generic occurrences for the Devonian of North America. I will use cluster and provinciality analyses to identify and track the movement of faunas among basins, through all Devonian Transgression-Regression cycles. This database will provide a context for more detailed basin-level studies by identifying or clarifying times and places of broad-scale migration and community restructuring. Characterize paleocommunity composition over time in three important formations from Transgression-Regression cycle IIa: the Tully Formation (New York), the Little Cedar Formation (Iowa), and the Milwaukee Formation (Wisconsin). Use these data to study community stability and dynamics during an interval of faunal disruption and mingling (Transgression-Regression cycle IIa).


Paul at Morown Cliff, Oscar Range, Western Australia. The limestone here is part of a Late Devonian reef front and is also an important rock art gallery for the Bunaba Tribe.
Photos Milwaukee Formation (Wisconsin) Tully Formation (New York)
A very hungry rynchonellid brachiopod from the Late Devonian West Range Limestone of Lincoln County, Nevada.