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Sampling and Sample Size in Ecological Analyses of Fossil Mammals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

Ronald G. Wolff
Ronald G. Wolff*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
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Abstract

Analysis of several thousand mammalian fossils from late Pleistocene sediments in California provide data on sampling in mammalian paleoecology. Recovery of bones and teeth from the screenwashed bulk sediment sample residue is considered nearly total. Neither surface collecting alone, nor small bulk samples provide satisfactory quantitative data on original community structure or postmortem alterations in community organization. Minimum sample size for the analysis of diversity is discussed. Diversity and size-trophic ratios of the total identifiable mammalian component of this fauna (N = 1222) are similar to those expected in living communities, and therefore suggest adequate sampling, and minimally biased samples.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , Spring 1975 , pp. 195 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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