 |
Karen Chin
Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences and
Curator of Paleontology, University of Colorado Museum
Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara, 1996
E-mail:Karen.Chin@Colorado.edu
Phone: 303 735 3074
Curriculum Vitae |
|
Research Interests
My research investigates the structure and dynamics of ancient
ecosystems--particularly those of the Mesozoic Era (about 65 to 250 million years ago).
I am interested in how ancient communities of organisms differed from modern
ecosystems in composition and organization. Much of my work focuses on tapping
information available in permineralized coprolites (fossil feces), but I also examine
other trace and body fossils. My work focuses on understanding interactions among
ancient organisms, and deducing the environmental conditions in which these organisms
lived and were fossilized. I use a multidisciplinary approach by examining
geological, biological, and chemical characteristics of fossils and compare the fossil
evidence with modern ecosystems to derive paleoecological interpretations. |
|
Recent Publications
- Chin, K., and Bishop, J. in press. Exploited twice: bored bone in a
theropod coprolite from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah, USA. In: Bromley, R.G.,
Buatois, L.A., Mángano, M.G., Genise, J.F., and Melchor, R.N. (eds.), Sediment-Organism
Interactions: A Multifaceted Ichnology. SEPM Special Publications, v. 88.
- Yelinek, K. and Chin, K. in press. Probable dung beetle burrows
associated with Daemonelix, beaver burrows in the Miocene Harrison Formation, Nebraska,
U.S.A. In: Bromley, R.G., Buatois, L.A., Mángano, M.G., Genise, J.F., and Melchor, R.N.
(eds.), Sediment-Organism Interactions: A Multifaceted Ichnology. SEPM Special
Publications, v. 88.
- Chin, K., Eberth, D.A., Schweitzer, M.H., Rando, T.A., Sloboda, W.J.
and Horner, J.R. 2003. Remarkable preservation of undigested muscle tissue within a Late
Cretaceous tyrannosaurid coprolite from Alberta, Canada. PALAIOS, volume 18, No. 3, pp.
286-294.
- Hollocher, T.C., Chin, K., Hollocher, K.T, and Kruge, M.A. 2001.
Bacterial residues in coprolite of herbivorous dinosaurs: role of bacteria in
mineralization of feces. PALAIOS. 16: 547-565.
- Chin, K., Tokaryk, T.T., Erickson, G.M. and Calk, L.C. 1998. A
king-sized theropod coprolite. Nature. 393: 680-682.
- Chin, K. and Kirkland, J.I. 1998. Probable herbivore coprolites from
the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry, Western Colorado. Modern Geology. 23: 249-275.
- Chin, K. and Gill, B.D. 1996. Dinosaurs, dung beetles, and conifers:
participants in a Cretaceous food web. PALAIOS. 11(3): 280-285.
Contributed Chapters and Short Course Notes
- Chin, K. 2002. Analyses of coprolites produced by carnivorous
vertebrates. In Kowalewski, M. and Kelley, P.H. (eds.) Predation in the Fossil Record.
Paleontological Society Special Paper Volume 8. pp. 43-49.
- Chin, K. 1997. Coprolites. In Currie, P.J. and Padian, K. [eds.],
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press. San Diego. pp. 147-150.
- Chin, K. 1997. What did dinosaurs eat? Coprolites and other direct
evidence of dinosaur diets. In Farlow, J.O. and Brett-Surman, M.K. [eds.], The Complete
Dinosaur. Indiana University Press. Bloomington. pp. 371-382.
- Chin, K. 1994. On the elusive trail of fossil dung. In Rosenberg,
G.F. and Wolberg, D.L. [eds.], Dino Fest: Proceedings of a Conference for the General
Public, March 24-26, 1994. Paleontological Society Special Publication # 7. University of
Tennessee Press. Knoxville. pp. 285-294.
- Hunt, A.P., Chin, K. and Lockley, M.G. 1994. The palaeobiology of
vertebrate coprolites. In Donovan, S.K. [ed.], The Palaeobiology of Trace Fossils. John
Wiley & Sons. Chichester. pp. 221-240.
Selected Recent Professional Society Work
University of Colorado at Boulder: Assistant Professor &
Curator of Paleontology, August 2001 to present
Denver Museum of Nature and Science: Research Associate, March 2003 to present
Stanford University: National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, March 2000
June 2001
United States Geological Survey: Visiting Scientist, 1996-2000 (Ford Postdoctoral
Fellow 11/98-7/99)
Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman Montana: Currently Adjunct Curator of Paleobotany.
Back to Stratigraphic Sciences or the Faculty Page.
Comments or Questions about this page?
Drop us an email at: geolinfo@colorado.edu