22nd Annual Farrand Memorial Lecture -- On the Trail of an Ice Age Mastodon with Dan Fisher

Focusing on the life of the Buesching mastodon, represented by the large cast skeleton displayed in the atrium of the U-M Museum of Natural History, On the Trail of an Ice Age Mastodon will reveal the story of one male’s struggles and victories, from adolescence to the mating-season battle that ultimately claimed his life.
Paleontologists seeking to understand the lives of extinct animals often make do with scant clues gleaned from an animal’s skeleton, from its circumstances of preservation, and from its time of death. Reconstructing lost ecosystems is always a challenge, but sometimes we get lucky. At its best, the fossil record provides clear snapshots, or even motion sequences from the past, such as footprints showing how an animal moved. On a larger scale, we can now read records of growth and behavior archived in the mineralized layers of mastodon tusks, allowing us to follow a single animal for years, across entire landscapes. For the first time, we identify seasonal migratory behavior that may have been key to meeting the challenges of reproduction near the end of the Ice Age.
The Farrand Memorial Lecture honors the memory of Dr. William R. Farrand, who served as Director of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History for seven years (July 1993-June 2000), as well as his long career as a professor in the U-M Department of Geological Sciences. Past lectures have covered topics such as U-M collections, astronomy, biodiversity, evolution, and climate change.