Dr. Anthony Martin

Honors Program Coordinator,
Senior Lecturer

400 Dowman Drive
Atlanta, GA 30322

geoam@learnlink.emory.edu

Telephone: 404-727-6476
Fax: 404-727-4448

Honorary Research Associate, School of Geosciences, Monash University
Winship Award Winner (2005-2006)

Research Associate in Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Emory Center for Teaching and Curriculum Award for Excellence in Teaching (2006-2007)

• Born in Terre Haute, Indiana.
• B.S. in Geobiology, St. Joseph’s College, (Indiana).
• M.S. in Geology, Miami University (Ohio).
• Ph.D. in Geology, University of Georgia.
• Have taught at Emory University and lived in Atlanta, Georgia since 1990.

Courses Taught

• ENVS 120 – Human and Natural Ecology
• ENVS 135 – Environmental Geology
• ENVS 142 – Evolution of the Earth
• ENVS 190 – Freshman Seminar: How to Interpret Behavior You Did Not See (cross-listed as NBB 190)
• ENVS 241 – Modern and Ancient Tropical Environments (co-taught with Stephen Henderson of Oxford College)
• ENVS 242 – Modern and Ancient Tropical Environmental Field Course (co-taught with Stephen Henderson of Oxford College) at the Gerace Research Center, San Salvador, Bahamas
• BIO 341 - Evolutionary Biology (taught in Australia Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Queensland, Australia)
• BIO/ENVS 349 - Ecology of Invasions (taught in Australia Ecology and Evolutionary Biology PRogram, Queensland, Australia)
• ENVS 385 – Special Topics: Paleoecology
• ENVS 385 - Special Topics: Ecological History of Australia and New Zealand
• ENVS 410 – Extinctions
• ENVS 444 - Ecosystems of the Southeastern U.S. Field Course
• ENVS 495 - Honors Research
• ENVS 498, 499 - Individual Directed Reading, Individual Research
• Geology 100N – Desert Geology (offered through Oxford College, co-taught with Stephen Henderson)
• Geology 200N – Dinosaurs and Their World (offered through Oxford College, co-taught with Stephen Henderson)
• Faculty mentor for SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research at Emory) Program

Research Interests

• My main research interest is ichnology, the study of plant and animal traces, such as tracks, trails, burrows, nests, and feces. Moreover, I try to generate research questions from these traces focusing on how they might provide insights on organismal behavior. Some of these questions include: (1) How does an organism’s body reflect its potential behavior versus behaviors shown by its traces?; or (2) How do traces indicate behaviors similar or different from those the few times we might observe an organism’s behavior?
• I study both modern and ancient traces (neoichnology and paleoichnology, respectively), using a comparative approach that looks at how traces are made, how they get preserved in the fossil record, then developing hypotheses on how well they show behavioral interactions of organisms in the context of their environments. My methods are akin to behavioral ecology and often I have described it to ecologists as “behavioral paleoecology,” but with one foot planted firmly in modern environments.
• Recently I have especially become interested in tracks and tracking of modern terrestrial vertebrates, but am willing to study (and have studied) burrows, borings, nests, and coprolites. Because of this approach, field work is essential for my research, so be prepared for that if you think that you would like to work with me.

Potential Student Research Projects

• Tracking and documenting traces of local mammals (beavers, foxes, river otters, mink, raccoons) and birds (blue herons, green herons, woodpeckers, Canada geese) in Lullwater Estate or South Peachtree Creek Nature Preserve.
• Tracking and documenting traces of invasive mammals (feral cattle and hogs) on Sapelo Island, Georgia.
• Computer mapping of track data derived from CyberTracker (Palm OS program).
• Describing and interpreting Paleozoic invertebrate trace fossils of Georgia and Alabama.
• Describing and interpreting Holocene and Pleistocene trace fossils on San Salvador Island, Bahamas (ENVS 241 and 242 are prerequisites to this, though!).

Upcoming, Recent Publications

Upcoming, Recent Publications

Martin, A.J., in progress, Life Traces of the Georgia Coast. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana: Expected publication in fall, 2010.

Published Papers and Abstracts (since 2003)

2009

Martin, A.J. 2009. Applications of trace fossils to interpreting paleoenvironments and sequence stratigraphy. In Duncan, M.S., and Kath, R.L. (editors), Fall Line Geology of East Georgia: With a Special Emphasis on the Upper Eocene. Georgia Geological Society Guidebook, 29: 35-42. PDF

Martin, A.J., Rich, T.H., Vickers-Rich, P., Kool, L., and Trusler, P. 2009. From crayfish to dinosaurs: Early Cretaceous trace fossils of Victoria, Australia and their uses in interpreting circumpolar environments. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 41(7): 162.

Martin, A.J. 2009. Dinosaur burrows in the Otway Group (Albian) of Victoria, Australia and their relation to Cretaceous polar environments. Cretaceous Research, 30: 1223-1237. PDF

Martin, A.J. 2009. Dinosaurs down underground. Australasian Science Magazine, October 2009: 14-16. PDF

Martin, A.J., and Varricchio, D.J. 2009. Paleoecological utility of insect trace fossils in dinosaur nesting sites of the Two Medicine Formation (Campanian), Choteau, Montana. Fourth International Symposium on Dinosaur Eggs and Babies Conference, Museum of the Rockies Occasional Paper No. 4: 25.

Martin, A.J., and Kool, L. 2009. Burrows of unusual size: enormous decapod trace fossils in fresh-water facies of Early Cretaceous polar environments, Victoria, Australia. North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC) Abstracts, 9: 385.

Rindsberg, A.K., and Martin, A.J. 2009. Take continental ichnology to the masses. North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC) Abstracts, 9: 21.

Martin, A.J., and Rindsberg, A.K. 2009. Ichnological diagnosis of ancient storm washover fans, Yellow Banks Bluff, St. Catherines Island, Georgia (USA). Proceedings of the Caldwell Conference IV, Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines and the Georgia Bight.

 

2008

Martin, A. J. 2008. Neoichnology of an Arctic fluvial point bar, Colville River, Alaska (USA). Ichnia 2008, Abstracts and Program, Cracow, Poland, v. 2: in press.

Martin, A.J. 2008. Tetrapod tracks and landscapes. Ichnia 2008, Abstracts and Program, Cracow, Poland, v. 2: in press.

Martin, A.J., Rich, T.H., Poore, G.B.C., Schultz, M.B., Austin, C.M., Kool, L., and Vickers-Rich, P. 2008. Fossil evidence from Australia for oldest known freshwater crayfish in Gondwana. Gondwana Research, v. 14, p. 287-296. PDF

Martin, A.J., and Rindsberg, A.K. 2008. Ichnological signatures of storm-washover fan deposits: Yellow Banks Bluff, St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 40, n. 4, p. 15.

Martin, A.J., and Varricchio, D.J. 2008. Composite trace fossils in terrestrial environments and their resultant ichnofabrics. Ichnia 2008, Abstracts and Program, Cracow, Poland, v. 2: in press.

Martin, A.J., Rich, T.H., Poore, G.B.C., Schultz, M.B., Austin, C.M., Kool, L., and Vickers-Rich, P. 2008. Early Cretaceous trace and body fossils in Australia establish the oldest known Gondwanan crayfish in their probable place of origin. Geological Society of America Abstracts and Program, v. 40, in press.

Tacker, R.C., Martin, A.J., Weaver, P.G., Lawver, D., and Williams, L., 2008. Body fossil vs. ichnofossil: Oldhamia recta revisited. Geological Society of America Abstracts and Program, v. 40, in press.

2007

Varricchio, D.J., Martin, A. J., and Katsura, Y. 2007. First trace and body fossil evidence of a burrowing, denning dinosaur. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, v. 274, n. 1616, p. 1361-1368. PDF

Varricchio, D.J., Martin, A. J., and Katsura, Y. 2007. Burrowing behavior in a new ornithopod dinosaur from the mid-Cretaceous of Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27 [Supplment to No. 3), in press.

Martin, A. J., Vickers-Rich, P., Rich, T.H., and Kool, L. 2007. Polar dinosaur tracks in the Cretaceous of Australia: though many were cold, few were frozen. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27 [Supplement to No. 3], in press.

Henderson, S.H., and Martin, A.J. 2007. Exploring connections: field-based geology courses in the liberal arts. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 39(2), 90.

Martin, A.J., and Rindsberg, A.K. 2007. Neoichnological novelties from Sapelo Island (Georgia) and their applications to the fossil record. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 39(2), 73.

Rindsberg, A.K., and Martin, A.J. 2007. Ichnodiversity does not equal biodiversity: bivalve trace fossils from the Pennington Formation (Upper Mississippian), Georgia. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 39(2), 36.

2006

Martin, A. J. 2006. Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs (2nd Edition). Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK: 560 p.

Martin, A. J. 2006. Trace Fossils of San Salvador. Gerace Research Center, San Salvador, Bahamas: 80 p.

Gregory, M. G., Campbell, K. A., Zuraida, R., and Martin, A. J. 2006. Plant traces resembling Skolithos. Ichnos, 13: 205-216. PDF

Martin, A. J. 2006. Resting traces of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata associated with respiration and hydration, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA. Ichnos, 13: 57-67. PDF

Martin, A. J. 2006. A composite trace fossil of decapod and hymenopteran origin from the Rice Bay Formation (Holocene), San Salvador, Bahamas. In Gamble, D., and Davis, R. L. (editors), 12^th Symposium of the Geology of the Bahamas, Gerace Research Center, San Salvador, Bahamas: 99-112. PDF

Martin, A. J., and Rindsberg, A. K. 2006. Arthropod tracemakers of Nereites?: Neoichnological observations of juvenile limulids and their paleoichnological applications. In William Miller, III (editor), Trace Fossils: Concepts, Problems, and Prospects, Elsevier Press, Amsterdam: 469-482.

Gregory, M.R., Hikuroa, D., Phillips, K., Campbell, K.A., and Martin, A.J. 2006 Moa trackways and footprints: three new discoveries. In Stewart, B., Wallace C., Lecointre, J., and Reyners, K. (editors), Geosciences '06: Our Planet, Our Future: Geological Society of New Zealand and New Zealand Geophysical Society, Programme and Abstracts, 122: 26.

Martin, A.J., and Rindsberg, A.K. 2006. Cubichnia revisited: When is a resting trace just a resting trace? Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 38(7): 476.

Martin, A. J., and Rindsberg, A. K. 2006. So happy together: Multiphyletic group behavior at the Union Chapel tracksite (Pennsylvanian, Alabama). Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 38(2): 72.

2005

Martin, A. J. 2005. Avian tracks as initiators of mudcracks: Models for similar effects of non-avian theropods? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 25 [Supplement to No. 3]: 89A

Martin, A. J., and Pyenson, N. D. 2005. Behavioral significance of vertebrate trace fossils from the Union Chapel Mine Site. In Buta, R. J., Rindsberg, A. K., and Kapaska-Merkel, D. C. (editors), Pennsylvanian Footprints in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama, Alabama Paleontological Society, Monograph No. 1, Birmingham, Alabama: 59-73. PDF

Buta, R. J., Kopaska-Merkel, D. C., Rindsberg, A. K., and Martin, A. J. 2005. Atlas of Union Chapel Mine invertebrate trackways and other traces. In Buta, R. J., Rindsberg, A. K., and Kapaska-Merkel, D. C. (editors), Pennsylvanian Footprints in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama, Alabama Paleontological Society, Monograph No. 1, Birmingham, Alabama: 277-337. PDF

Buatois, L. A., Gingras, M. K., MacEachern, J., Mángano, M. G., Zonneveld, J.-P., Pemberton, S. G., Netto, R. G., and Martin, A. J. 2005. Colonization of brackish-water systems through time: Evidence from the trace-fossil record. Palaios, 20: 321-347. PDF

2004

Gregory, M. G., Martin, A. J., and Campbell, K. A. 2004. Composite trace fossils formed by plant and animal behavior in the Quaternary of northern New Zealand and Sapelo Island, Georgia (USA). Fossils and Strata, 51: 88-105. PDF

Hasiotis, S. T., Wellner, R. W., Martin, A. J., and Demko, T. M. 2004. Vertebrate burrows from Triassic and Jurassic continental deposits of North America and Antarctica: Their paleoenvironmental and paleoecological significance. Ichnos, 11: 103-104. PDF

Martin, A. J. 2004. A composite trace fossil of decapod and hymenopteran origin from the Rice Bay Formation (Holocene), San Salvador, Bahamas. In Gamble, D., and Davis, R. L. (editors), 12^th Symposium of the Geology of the Bahamas Abstracts and Programs, Gerace Research Center, San Salvador, Bahamas: 21-22.

Martin, A. J. 2004. Tracking as neoichnology: Contributions to the science, limitations, and future applications. In L. Buatois and M. G. Mangáno (editors), Ichnia 2004, First International Congress on Ichnology Abstract Book, Museo Paleontologico Egidio Ferluglio, Trelew, Argentina: 51-52.

Martin, A. J., and Rainforth, E. M. 2004. A theropod resting trace that is also a locomotion trace: Case study of Hitchcock’s specimen AC 1/7. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 36(2): 96.

Martin, A. J., and Rindsberg, A. K. 2004. Insights from the Union Chapel Mine, Alabama (USA) on Carboniferous vertebrate behavior. In L. Buatois and M. G. Mangáno (editors), Ichnia 2004, First International Congress on Ichnology Abstract Book, Museo Paleontologico Egidio Ferluglio, Trelew, Argentina: 52.

Rindsberg, A. K., and Martin, A. J. 2004. Invertebrate trace fossils from the Union Chapel Mine of Alabama (Early Pennsylvanian: Langsettian). In L. Buatois and M. G. Mangáno (editors), Ichnia 2004, First International Congress on Ichnology Abstract Book, Museo Paleontologico Egidio Ferluglio, Trelew, Argentina: 68-69.

Rindsberg, A. K., and Martin, A. J. 2004. One ichnology. In L. Buatois and M. G. Mangáno (editors), Ichnia 2004, First International Congress on Ichnology Abstract Book, Museo Paleontologico Egidio Ferluglio, Trelew, Argentina: 69.

Sedgwick, C. W., and Martin, A. J. 2004. Monitoring of urban beaver (Castor canadensis) through tracking methods, Atlanta, Georgia. Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference Abstracts, Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1: 52.

2003

Bromley, R. G., Uchman, A., Gregory, M., and Martin, A. J. 2003. Hillichnus lobosensis igen. et isp. nov., a complex trace fossil produced by tellinacean bivalves, Paleocene, Monterey, California, U.S.A. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Special Issue (Complex Trace Fossils), v. 191: 157-186. PDF

Curran, H. A., and Martin, A. J. 2003. Intertidal mounds of tropical callianassids provide substrates for complex upogebiid shrimp burrows: modern and Pleistocene examples from the Bahamas. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Special Issue (Complex Trace Fossils), v. 191: 229-245. PDF

Gregory, M. G., Martin, A. J., and Campbell, K. A. 2003. Composite Plant and Invertebrate Ichnofabric Relationships: Examples from Northern New Zealand and Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA. In Wetzel, A. (editor), 7^th International Ichnofabric Workshop, Abstracts and Program, Basel, Switzerland: 38-39.

Martin, A. J. 2003. Terrestrial vertebrate traces as biofacies indicators: Insights from neoichnology. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 35(3): 25.

Martin, A. J. 2003. Undichna: A trace fossil bridging the gap between fish and tetrapods. In A. J. Martin (editor), Permo-Carboniferous Workshop, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: 19-20.

Martin, A. J. (editor). 2003. Permo-Carboniferous Workshop, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: 76 p.

Martin, A. J., and Henderson, S. W. 2003. When does a taphocoenose become a biocoenose? A storm-generated inland molluscan assemblage, San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 35(2): 64.

McGee, D. K., and Martin, A. J. 2003. Comparative analysis of fossil reefs on San Salvador Island, Bahamas: Similarities and Differences in Species and Facies. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 35(2): 16.

Rindsberg, A. K., and Martin, A. J. 2003. Arthrophycus and the problem of compound trace fossils. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Special Issue (Complex Trace Fossils), v. 191: 187-219. PDF

Traynham, B. N., and Martin, A. J. 2003. Comparison of Pleistocene and modern root traces on Man Head Cay, San Salvador Island, Bahamas, and implications for plant biogeography over time. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 35(2): 16.

Links to Authored Web Pages

Introduction to Ichnology

Dinosaur Trace Fossils