| Archives_of_ISOGEOCHEM Searchable archives of the e-mail group for stable isotope geochemistry. |
| Biogeosciences Information, discussion, and resources to help fulfill the scientific need to bridge the earth and life sciences. |
| Fluid_Inclusions Primarily a directory to fluid inclusion-related resources. Links are provided for old and upcoming meetings and short courses, a few organizations, and some archived forums on research issues. |
| The_Geochemistry_Portal Organized collection of links, including news, organizations, universities, laboratories, publications, and databases. Has search and ability to submit links for inclusion. |
| Geotech_org_-_Geology_and_Geochemistry Educational site for those interested in learning about surface exploration techniques used for oil and gas. Includes images, analogs, bibliographies, and services. |
| ISOGEOCHEM Information about the e-mail discussion list for stable isotope geochemistry. Includes many isotope-related links including available positions, research laboratories, short course and workshop listi |
| Martian_Geochemistry Summarizes the geochemical results obtained by NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. Includes plots of geochemical trends, and comparisons with earlier Viking mission data as well as with Earth geochemistr |
| Stable_Isotopes_and_Mineral_Resource_Investigations An information hand-out from the US Geological Survey, introducing the topic of stable isotopes and providing some examples of their use in determining the origins of mineral deposits in the United St |
| Aburi_Botanic_Gardens Facility in Ghana aiming to promote plant diversity through research, horticultural training, cultivation and introduction of endangered plants, and management of natural resources. Summary informatio |
| Alaska_Botanical_Garden Calendar of events, information about educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and membership information. Anchorage, Alaska, USA. |
| Alta_Vista_Botanical_Gardens Community botanical garden of the world's rarest and most unusual plants in themed environments, bringing together art, people, and nature. City of Vista, California. |
| American_Association_of_Botanical_Gardens_and_Arboreta A professional association for public gardens in North America, supporting the public horticulture community in its mission to study, display, and conserve plants. |
| The_Arboretum_at_Flagstaff 200-acre arboretum in a ponderosa pine forest. Guided tours, gift shop, nature trails, endangered plants and animals and cultivated gardens. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. |
| Arboretum_de_Villardebelle Dedicated to conifers from all over the world. Its main aim is to help protect rare and endangered species. Located near Carcassone, southern France. |
| Arnold_Arboretum A research and educational institution. It manages a collection of hardy trees, shrubs, and vines located on 265 acres and associated herbarium and library collections. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. |
| Australian_National_Botanic_Gardens Australian plants, databases on living plants, herbarium specimens and photographs. Canberra, ACT, Australia. |
| Bartlett_Arboretum_and_Gardens Contains thousands of plants, including several champion trees, and features a pond, swamp, and stream. North Stamford, Connecticut, USA. |
| Belize_Botanic_Garden Belizean species are presented in an educational setting, including special collections such as Heliconias, orchids, and palms. Goals are to recreate specific habitats such as Pine Ridge, Baldy Beaco |
| Bellingrath_Gardens_and_Home A public garden located on the Isle aux Oies River. Features seasonal blooms and offers river cruises. Theodore, Alabama, USA. |
| Betty_Ford_Alpine_Gardens Calendar of events, information about programs, and collections policy. Vail, Colorado, USA. |
| Bhutan\'s_Royal_Botanic_Garden Information about the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan's botanic garden. |
| Bickelhaupt_Arboretum Class and activity schedule, photos, volunteer opportunities, and a list of board members. Clinton, Iowa, USA. |
| Birmingham_Botanical_Gardens Volunteer based organisation promoting public knowledge of plants and gardens. Provides an image gallery. Birmingham, Alabama, USA |
| Bodenham_Arboretum_and_Earth_Centre A collection of over 2500 trees set in 134 acres of beautiful Worcestershire countryside with 11 pools, four miles of footpaths, a working farm, and an award winning Earth Centre set in a hillside. W |
| Bonn_University_Botanical_Garden History, activities, functions and opening hours of this garden. Bonn, Germany. |
| Botanic_Garden_and_Botanical_Museum_Berlin-Dahlem Information about the garden, library, museum, research, biodiversity informatics, and other botanical projects and organizations. |
| Botanical_and_Experimental_Garden At the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands). Specializes in solanaceae, with an extensive image list of plants in this family and links to other resources. |
| The_Botanical_Garden_in_Ljubljana Overview, news, events, plus information on guided tours and list of plants available for purchased. Located in Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Botanical_Garden_of_the_Ozarks Photos, calendar of events, volunteer opportunities, membership information, and a list of members. Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. |
| Botanical_Garden_of_the_University_of_Vienna Created in 1754 by Archduchess (Empress) Maria Theresia of Austria the Garden was first used by the Medical Faculty of Vienna University. The Garden is a synthesis between a 19th century landscape ga |
| Botanical_Garden_of_Vilnius_University Lithuanian academic facility presents information about its research, departments, and history. |
| The_Botany_Gardens_Glasshouses_at_University_of_Wales,_Aberystwyth Tropical glasshouse and surrounding botanical gardens, featuring ferns, cycads, and flowering plants. Overview of botanical divisions, history, and visiting information. |
| Boyce_Thompson_Arboretum A visit to the southwest USA's leading desert arboretum. The site is fully described and a comprehensive photo tour of the arboretum has been included. Superior, Arizona. |
| Bradenham_Hall_Gardens_and_Arboretum In Norfolk, UK, a private garden open to the public on selected days, featuring over 1000 named varieties of trees.. Information about the garden, its collections, and plants and other items for sale |
| The_Brenton_Arboretum Features trees, shrubs, animal life, and wetlands. Includes news, birding information, volunteer opportunities, and photos. Located in Dallas Center, Iowa, USA. |
| Brooklyn_Botanic_Garden Offers news, virtual tour, programs, events, articles, shopping, research, and information for visitors. New York. |
| Buffalo_and_Erie_County_Botanical_Gardens 1900 tri-domed glass conservatory designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Victorian Gardens. History, education programmes, events, virtual tour. Buffalo, NY, USA. |
| Cambridge_University_Botanic_Garden A 17 hectare garden close to the city center, with a diverse collection of plants. Cambridge, England. |
| Cedar_Valley_Arboretum_and_Botanic_Gardens Featured gardens and special events. Waterloo, IA, USA. |
| Chalice_Well_Gardens Magical spring and gardens with holy thorn trees, said to have sprouted from Joseph of Arimathea's staff. Wide herbaceous borders either side of the path are a riot of colour and perfume in Summer, vi |
Studies of Quaternary environments, those of roughly the last two million years of Earth history, are increasingly important as we struggle to understand the scale and rapidity of climatic and environmental changes in the modern world.How can we say, for example, that human activities are having major impacts on global climates if we can't say for sure what the natural rate of variability in those climate systems is?Colby students are introduced to techniques in Quaternary Paleoecology through a course (GE372) that is open to allstudents meeting the prerequisites. Inthis course, students learn to identify someof the more important non-marine fossil groups that provide useful data to help usre-create what past environments must havebeen like, and from that information toapproximate what past climatic parameters must have determined that biological environment.
The study of palynomorphs (pollen grains) insediments is one way that past vegetation changescan be assessed. Above, Colby studentsare shown preparing to study and sample a river-bluff exposure of sediments along the Sandy River, about a half-hour drive north of the campus; these samples will provide the basis for subsequent lab work during the semester, in which they'll be evaluating the pre-European forest composition and environment with that of the present day at this same site. At left are pollen grains of bog laurel, a common Sphagnum bog plantin central Maine. The plant grows in abundance inthe Colby Marston Bog in Belgrade, about a half-hour drive west ofthe Colby campus, where Assistant ProfessorBruce Rueger and student Kaatje van derHoeven '95 are shown taking a sediment corein the photo below.
Other organic remains are frequentlyfound in sediments that can also be very usefulin interpreting past environments. Seeds, needles, and other plant fragments (called plant macrofossils as a group) can provide additional information about what plant species were present in the past; pollen can rarely be told beyond the generic level (e.g., pine, but not what kind of pine).Insect remains can also be helpful. The beetle parts shown here were recovered from the 
sediments exposed in bluffs along the Sandy River, a short distance upstream from the site shown at the top of this page; they are about 2000 years old. They are fragments (front wings, called elytra) of a single leaf-eating beetle species that feeds almost exclusively on willows. Plants like willows and the bog laurel mentioned above, like all plants with showy flowers, are mostly or entirely insect-pollinated, and as a result the plants produce very little pollen.This frequently results in their being under-represented in the pollen floras recovered from sediments, and they may not show up in the plant macrofossil record either. Use of beetle remainssuch as those shown here can help toprovide such additional details on vegetation, as well asmany other aspects of past environments, that helpgeologists to achieve accurate reconstructions.Five students at Colby have completed Senior Scholars* theses in Quaternary studies in recent years. These students, and their theses, which are bound and housed in Special Collections in Miller Library at Colby, were:Heather A. Hall, 1989-90: "Paleoenvironmental analysis of a late-Holocene subfossil coleopteran assemblage from Starks, Maine"Tristram C. Hussey, 1990-91: "Pollen analysis of the Sepphoris archeological site, Beit Natofa Valley, Israel" Lisa L. Churchill, 1991-92: "Paleoenvironmental interpretation of late Pleistocene and early Holocene subfossil coleopteran assemblages from the Kantishna River drainage, central Alaska" Theodore N. vonWallmenich, 1991-92: "Pollen and vegetation analysis of a 9-meter core from Devonshire Marsh, Bermuda" John P. Dawson, 1994-95: "Postglacial vegetation history of The Great Bog, Belgrade, Maine"*The Senior Scholars program is an all-campus honors program, typically with 8-12 students enrolled annually. Students must show excellent academic records, be supported by a faculty mentor, and petition for admission to the program. Normally, students enroll for 6 semester hours of Senior Scholar credit in each semester and will take only two additional courses.
Go to Quaternary Resources page
Go to the Quaternary Entomology Page
Return to the Course Materials page
Go to the GE372 Syllabus Page