Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T01:43:50.280Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Last interglacial plant macrofossils and climates from Ziegler Reservoir, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Laura E. Strickland ,
Richard G. Baker ,
Robert S. Thompson  and
Dane M. Miller
Laura E. Strickland*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, MS-980, Denver, CO 80225 USA
Richard G. Baker
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Robert S. Thompson
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, MS-980, Denver, CO 80225 USA
Dane M. Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: + 1 303 236 5349.E-mail address:lstrickland@usgs.gov (L.E. Strickland).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Ninety plant macrofossil taxa from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado, record environmental changes at high elevation (2705 m asl) in the Rocky Mountains during the Last Interglacial Period. Present-day vegetation is aspen forest (Populus tremuloides) intermixed with species of higher (Picea, Abies) and lower (Artemisia, Quercus) elevations. Stratigraphic units 4–13 contain montane forest taxa found near the site today and several species that today generally live at lower elevations within (Abies concolor, Lycopus americanus) and outside Colorado (Najas flexilis). These data suggest near-modern climatic conditions, with slightly warmer summer and winter temperatures. This montane forest period was succeeded by a shorter treeless interval (Unit 14) representing colder and/or drier conditions. In units 15–16, conifer trees reoccur but deciduous and herb taxa are lacking, suggesting a return to warmer conditions, although cooler than during the earlier forest period. Comparison of these inferred paleoclimatic changes with the site's geochronologic framework indicates that the lower interval of sustained warmth correlates with late MIS 6–early 5b (~138–94 ka), the cold interval with MIS 5b (~94–87 ka), and the uppermost cool assemblages with MIS 5a (~87–77 ka).

Keywords

Plant macrofossilsLast interglacialPaleoecologyPaleoclimate
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 82 , Issue 3 , November 2014 , pp. 553 - 566
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, D.P., and West, G.J. Temperature and precipitation estimates through the last glacial cycle from Clear Lake, California, pollen data. Science 219, (1983). 168–170.Google Scholar
Adam, D.P., Sims, J.D., and Throckmorton, C.K. 130,000-yr continuous pollen record from Clear Lake, Lake County, California. Geology 9, (1981). 373–377.Google Scholar
Allard, G., Roy, M., Ghaleb, B., Richard, P.J.H., Larouche, A.C., Veillette, J.J., and Parent, M. Constraining the age of the last interglacial–glacial transition in the Hudson Bay lowlands (Canada) using U–Th dating of buried wood. Quaternary Geochronology 7, (2012). 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, J.R., and Huntley, B. Estimating past floristic diversity in montane regions from macrofossil assemblages. Journal of Biogeography 26, (1999). 55–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R.S., Jiménez-Moreno, G., Ager, T., and Porinchu, D. High-elevation paleoenvironmental change during MIS 6–4 in the central Rockies of Colorado as determined from pollen analysis. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 542–552. (in this volume) Google Scholar
Baker, R.G. Interglacial and interstadial environments in Yellowstone National Park. Mahaney, W.C. Quaternary Paleoclimate. (1981). Geo Books, Norwich, England. 361–375.Google Scholar
Baker, R.G. Sangamonian(?) and Wisconsinan paleoenvironments in Yellowstone National Park. Geological Society of America Bulletin 97, (1986). 717–736.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, R.G., and Richmond, G.M. Geology, palynology, and climatic significance of two pre-Pinedale Lake sediment sequences in and near Yellowstone National Park. Quaternary Research 10, (1978). 226–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennike, O., Jenson, J.B., and Lemke, W. Late Quaternary records of Najas spp. (Najadaceae) from the southwestern Baltic region. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 114, (2001). 259–267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bigelow, N.H., Edwards, M.E., Elias, S.A., Hamilton, T.D., and Schweger, C.E. Tundra and boreal forest of interior Alaska during terminal MIS 6 and MIS 5e. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 23, 3 (2014). 177–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.H. Modern macrofossil assemblages in lake sediments in Minnesota. Birks, H.J.B., and West, R.G. Quaternary Plant Ecology, 14th Symposium of the British Ecological Society. (1973). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 172–189.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H. Plant macrofossils in Quaternary lake sediments. Archiv fur Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie 15, (1980). 1–60.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H. The importance of plant macrofossils in late-glacial climatic reconstructions: an example from western Norway. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, (1993). 719–726.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H. Plant macrofossils. Smol, J.P., Birks, H.J.B., Last, W.M. Tracking Environmental Change using Lake Sediments v. 3, (2001). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. 49–74.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H. The importance of plant macrofossils in the reconstruction of late glacial vegetation and climate: examples from Scotland, western Norway, and Minnesota, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 453–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.J.B., and Birks, H.H. Chapter 5: plant macrofossils. Birks, H.J.B., and Birks, H.H. Quaternary Palaeoecology. (1980). University Park Press, Baltimore.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H., and Birks, H.J.B. Future uses of pollen analysis must include plant macrofossils. Journal of Biogeography 27, 1 (2000). 31–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.H., and Birks, H.J.B. Reconstructing Holocene climates from pollen and plant macrofossils, Chapter 23. Mackay, A. et al. Global Change in the Holocene. (2003). Arnold, London. 324–357.Google Scholar
Brown, P.M., Nash, S.E., and Kline, D. Identification and dendrochronology of wood found at the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Colorado, USA. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 575–579. (in this volume) Google Scholar
Bryant, B. Geologic map of the Highland Peak quadrangle. Pitkin County, Colorado, U.S. Geological Survey Map GC-932, 1:24,000 scale. (1972). Google Scholar
Bryant, Geology of the Aspen 15-minute quadrangle, Pitkin and Gunnison Counties, Colorado. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1073. (1979). Google Scholar
Bryant, B. Geology of the Aspen 15-minute quadrangle, Pitkin and Gunnison Counties, Colorado. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1073. (1979). 1–146.Google Scholar
Collinson, M.E. Accumulations of fruits and seeds in three small sedimentary environments in southern England and their palaeoecological implications. Annals of Botany 52, (1983). 583–592.Google Scholar
Cronk, J.K., and Fennessy, M.S. Wetland plants: biology and ecology. (2001). Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
Culver, D.R., and Lemly, J.M. Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants. Prepared for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129. (2013). Google Scholar
Davis, M.B., and Brubaker, L.B. Differential sedimentation of pollen grains in lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 18, (1973). 635–646.Google Scholar
Dawson, W., and Penhallow, D.P. On the Pleistocene flora of Canada. Geological Society of America Bulletin 1, (1890). 311–334.Google Scholar
Demko, T.M., Dubiel, R.F., and Parrish, J.T. Plant taphonomy in incised valleys: implications for interpreting paleoclimate from fossil plants. Geology 26, (1998). 1119–1122.Google Scholar
Dieffenbacher-Krall, A.C., and Halteman, W.A. The relationship of modern plant remains to water depth in alkaline lakes in New England, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology 24, (2000). 213–229.Google Scholar
Drake, H., and Burrows, C.J. The influx of potential macrofossils into Lady Lake, north Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 18, (1980). 257–274.Google Scholar
Dunwiddie, P.W. Macrofossil and pollen representation of coniferous trees in modern sediments from Washington. Ecology 68, 1 (1987). 1–11.Google Scholar
Greatrex, P.A. Interpretation of macrofossil assemblages from surface sampling of macroscopic plant remains in mire communities. Journal of Ecology 71, 3 (1983). 773–791.Google Scholar
Guppy, H.B. The River Thames as an agent in plant dispersal. Journal of the Linnaean Society of Botany XXIX, (1893). 333–346.Google Scholar
Hamilton, T.D., and Brigham-Grette, J. The last interglaciation in Alaska: stratigraphy and paleoecology of potential sites. Quaternary International 10–12, (1991). 49–71.Google Scholar
Hartmann, R. Floristic projects at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, plant inventory data. http://www.rmh.uwyo.edu/research/floristics.php (2013). (Accessed in August, 2013) Google Scholar
Hoadley, R.B. Identifying wood: accurate results with simple tools. (1990). The Taunton Press, Newtown.Google Scholar
Houben, P., Nolte, S., Rittweger, H., and Wunderlich, J. Late glacial and Holocene environmental change indicated by floodplain deposits of the Hessian Depression (central Germany). Maddy, D., Macklin, M.G., and Woodward, J.C. River Basin Sediment Systems: Archives of Environmental Change. (2001). A.A. Balkema, Lisse. 249–264.Google Scholar
Huggins, J.L. Snowmass Village, wild at heart, a field guide to plants birds & mammals of Snowmass/Aspen & the Colorado Rocky Mountains. (2004). Who Press, Basalt.Google Scholar
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) ITIS on-line database. http://www.itis.gov (2013). (Accessed in April, 2013) Google Scholar
Intellicast, Snowmass Village, Colorado: historic average. http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USCO0363 (2013). (Accessed in August, 2013) Google Scholar
Johnson, K.R., and Miller, I.M. Digging Snowmastodon: discovering an ice age world in the Colorado Rockies. (2012). Denver Museum of Nature and Science and People's Press, Denver, CO.Google Scholar
Kapp, R.O., and Gooding, A.M. Pleistocene vegetational studies in the Whitewater Basin, southeastern Indiana. Journal of Geology 72, (1964). 307–326.Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F., Bloom, A.L., Haas, J.N., Heiss, A.G., McAndrews, J.H., Miller, B.B., Morgan, A.V., and Seymour, K.L. The Fernbank interglacial site near Ithaca, New York, USA. Quaternary Research 72, (2009). 132–142.Google Scholar
Kerr-Lawson, L. Gastropods and plant macrofossils from the Quaternary Don Formation (Sangamonian Interglacial), Toronto, Ontario. M.S. thesis (1985). University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.Google Scholar
Kukla, G.J., Bender, M.L., de Beaulieu, J.L., Bond, G., Broecker, W.S., Cleveringa, P., Gavin, J., Herbert, T.D., Imbrie, J., Jouzel, J., Keigwin, L.D., Knudsen, K., McManus, J.F., Merkt, J., Muhs, D.R., Müller, H., Poore, R.Z., Porter, S.C., Seret, G., Shackleton, N.J., Turner, C., Tzedakis, P.C., and Winograd, I.J. Last interglacial climates. Quaternary Research 58, (2002). 2–13.Google Scholar
Licciardi, J.M., and Pierce, K.L. Cosmogenic exposure age chronologies of Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, (2008). 814–831.Google Scholar
Luna, T., Vance, L.K., and McIntyre, C. Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Fen. Montana Field Guide. http://FieldGuide.mt.gov/displayES_Detail.aspx?ES=9234 (2010). (Accessed in October, 2013) Google Scholar
Mahan, S.A., Gray, H.J., Pigati, J.S., Wilson, J., Lifton, N.A., Paces, J.B., and Blauw, M. A geochronologic framework for the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 490–503. (in this volume) Google Scholar
Mannion, A.M. Plant macrofossils and their significance in Quaternary paleoecology, Part I: introduction. Progress in Physical Geography 10, (1986). 194–214.Google Scholar
Martin, A.C. Notes and discussion: achene characters in the genus Scirpus . American Midand Naturalist 31, 1 (1944). 250 Google Scholar
Martin, A.C. Identifying pondweed seeds eaten by ducks. Journal of Wildlife Management 15, (1951). 253–258.Google Scholar
Martin, A.C., and Barkley, W.D. Seed Identification Manual. (2000). The Blackburn Press, Caldwell, NJ.Google Scholar
Martinson, D.G., Pisias, N.G., Hays, J.D., Imbrie, J., Moore, T.C. Jr., and Shackleton, N.J. Age dating and orbital theory of the Ice Ages: development of a high-resolution 0 to 300,000-year chronostratigraphy. Quaternary Research 27, (1987). 1–29.Google Scholar
Matthews, J.V. Jr. Insects and plant macrofossils from two Quaternary exposures in the Old Crow–Porcupine region, Yukon Territory, Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 7, (1975). 249–259.Google Scholar
Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Janssens, J.A. The last (Koy-Yukon) interglaciation in the northern Yukon: evidence from Unit 4 at Ch'ijee's Bluff, Bluefish Basin. Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 44, (1990). 341–362.Google Scholar
McKee, T.B., Doeskin, N.J., and Kleist, J. Historical dry and wet periods in Colorado (Part A: technical report). Colorado State University Climatology Report No. 99-1A. (1999). Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.Google Scholar
McQueen, D.R. Macroscopic plant remains in recent lake sediments. Tuatara 17, (1969). 13–19.Google Scholar
Miller, G.H., Mode, W.N., Wolfe, A.P., Sauer, P.E., Bennike, O., Forman, S.L., Short, S.K., Stafford, T.W. Jr. Stratified interglacial lacustrine sediments from Baffin Island, Arctic Canada: Chronology and paleoenvironmental implications. Quaternary Science Reviews 18, (1999). 789–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, D.M., Miller, I.M., and Jackson, S.T. Biogeography of Pleistocene conifer species from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 567–574. (in this volume) CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, I.M., Pigati, J.S., Anderson, R.S., Johnson, K.R., Mahan, S.A., Ager, T.A., Baker, R.G., Blaauw, M., Bright, J., Brown, P.M., Bryant, B., Calamari, Z.T., Carrara, P.E., Cherney, M.D., Demboski, J.R., Elias, S.A., Fisher, D.C., Gray, H.J., Haskett, D.R., Honke, J.S., Jackson, S.T., Jiménez-Moreno, G., Kline, D., Leonard, E.M., Lifton, N.A., Lucking, C., McDonald, H.G., Miller, D.M., Muhs, D.R., Nash, S.E., Newton, C., Paces, J.B., Petrie, L., Plummer, M.A., Porinchu, D.F., Rountrey, A.N., Scott, E., Sertich, J.J.W., Sharpe, S.E., Skipp, G.L., Strickland, L.E., Stucky, R.K., Thompson, R.S., and Wilson, J. A high-elevation, multi-proxy biotic and environmental record of MIS 6–4 from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 618–634. (in this volume) Google Scholar
Montgomery, F.H. Seeds and fruits of plants of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. (1977). University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mott, R.J., and DiLabio, R.N.W. Paleoecology of organic deposits of probable last interglacial age in northern Ontario. Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 44, (1990). 309–318.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., Ager, T.A., and Begét, J.E. Vegetation and paleoclimate of the last interglacial period, central Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 41–61.Google Scholar
New, M., Lister, D., Hulme, M., and Makin, I. A high-resolution data set of surface climate over global land areas. Climate Research 21, (2002). 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pigati, J.S., Miller, I.M., Johnson, K.R., Honke, J.S., Carrara, P.E., Muhs, D.R., Skipp, G., and Bryant, B. Geologic setting and stratigraphy of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82, (2014). 477–489. (in this volume) CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRISM Climate Group Oregon State University. http://prism.oregonstate.edu (2013). (created 4 Feb 2004. Accessed in August, 2013) Google Scholar
Rich, F.J. A review of the taphonomy of plant remains in lacustrine sediments. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 58, (1989). 33–46.Google Scholar
Richmond, G.M., and Pierce, K.L. Surficial geologic map of the Eagle Peak quadrangle, Yellowstone National Park and adjoining area, Wyoming. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geological Investigations Map I-637, 1:62,500. (1972). Google Scholar
Ritchie, J.C. Tansley Review No. 83: Current trends in studies of long-term plant community dynamics. New Phytologist 130, (1995). 469–494.Google Scholar
Schrupp, D.L., Reiners, W.A., Thompson, T.G., O'Brien, L.E., Kindler, J.A., Wunder, M.B., Lowsky, J.F., Buoy, J.C., Satcowitz, L., Cade, A.L., Stark, J.D., Driese, K.L., Owens, T.W., Russo, S.J., and D'Erchia, F. Colorado gap analysis program: a geographic approach to planning for biological diversity — final report. USGS Biological Resources Division, Gap Analysis Program and Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver, CO. (2000). (http://ndis1.nrel.colostate.edu/cogap/cogaphome.html, Accessed in August, 2013)Google Scholar
Skinner, R.G. Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Moose River Basin, Ontario. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 225, (1973). 77p Google Scholar
Southwest Environmental Information Network, SEINet http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/index.php (2013). (Accessed in April through August, 2013) Google Scholar
Spicer, R.A. The formation and interpretation of plant fossil assemblages. Callow, J.A. Advances in Botanical Research 16. (1989). Academic Press, London. 95–191.Google Scholar
Spicer, R.A. Plant taphonomic processes. Allison, P.A., and Briggs, D.E.G. Taphonomy: Releasing the data locked in the fossil record. (1991). Plenum Press, New York. 71–113.Google Scholar
Spicer, R.A., and Wolfe, J.A. Plant taphonomy of late Holocene deposits in Trinity (Clair Engle) Lake, northern California. Paleobiology 13, 2 (1987). 227–245.Google Scholar
Thompson, R.S., Anderson, K.H., Pelltier, R.T., Strickland, L.E., Shafer, S.L., and Bartlein, P.J. Atlas of relations between climatic parameters and distributions of important trees and shrubs in North America — modern data for climatic estimation from vegetation inventories. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1650-F, CD-ROM. (2012). Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service The Woody Plant Seed Manual. Bonner, F.T., and Karrfalt, R.P. Agricultural handbook 727. (2008). (Washington, D.C.) Google Scholar
Van Devender, T.R. Late Pleistocene plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert: a survey of ancient packrat middens in southwestern Arizona. Ph.D. Dissertation (1973). University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.Google Scholar
Vance, R.E., and Mathewes, R.W. Deposition of modern pollen and plant macroremains in a hypersaline prairie lake basin. Canadian Journal of Botany 72, (1994). 539–548.Google Scholar
Vankat, J.L. Vegetation dynamics on the mountains of plateaus of the American Southwest. (2013). Springer, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
Wainman, N., and Mathewes, R.W. Distribution of plant macroremains in surface sediments of Marion Lake, southwestern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Botany 68, (1990). 364–373.Google Scholar
Watts, W.A. Plant macrofossils and Quaternary palaeoecology. Walker, D., and Guppy, J.C. Biology and Quaternary Environments: Australian Academy of Science, Canberra. (1978). 53–67.Google Scholar
Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) Cooperative climatological data summaries. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/climatedata/climsum/ (2013). (Accessed in August, 2013) Google Scholar
Whitlock, C., Sarna-Wojcicki, A.M., Bartlein, P.J., and Nickmann, R.J. Environmental history and tephrostratigraphy at Carp Lake, southwestern Columbia Basin, Washington, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155, (2000). 7–29.Google Scholar
Woodcock, D.W. Significance of ring porosity in analysis of a Sangamon Flora. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 73, (1989). 197–204.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 27.8 KB
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S2

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 129.9 KB
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S3

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 26.9 KB
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S4

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 17.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S5

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 22.7 KB
Supplementary material: File

Strickland et al. supplementary material

Table S6

Download Strickland et al. supplementary material(File)
File 17.8 KB