December Meeting Features Elections & Chitaley Paleobotany Talks              
by Craig Tipton

 

A turnout of over 30 members and guests was present at the Parma-Snow Library for the December 16th Meeting and Paleobotany competition.  A short business meeting concentrated on the upcoming Annual Awards Banquet to be held on January 20th at the Rocky River Nature Center.  Reminders were given to sign the various lists for food dishes to be brought.  The election of the 2007 officers was held.  A slate from the nominating committee was presented by Dick Cole:

 

President:  Dick Cole

Vice President:  Jim Supp

Secretary:  Beth Krumhansl

Treasurer:  Craig Tipton

Members at Large:  Pat Newhauser, Tony Verdi, and Donna Cole

 

There were no other nominations from the floor, so a motion to elect the slate as presented was passed unanimously. 

 

After the break the paleobotany talks began.  As it turned out, both Mike Nathal and Craig Tipton had prepared talks on Devonian plants, so they drew straws to see who would go first.   Mike Nathal, the winner, gave a talk on Devonian Plants with a special attention on how they gave information on the mass extinction at the end of the Devonian.   He gave a brief introduction to the development and diversification of plant life in the Devonian including the prior development of plants like Cooksonia in the Silurian and later development of plants like seed ferns and calamites.  This culminated by the end of the Devonian in the development of large forests of trees like Archeopteris.  It was postulated that the formation of large amounts of plant cover on land during the Devonian accelerated the erosion process of the rocks.  This lead to the deposition of large amounts of carbonates in the sea floor and a drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide.  This resulted in an ice age which brought about the extinction of many warm, shallow water species in the oceans.

 

Craig Tipton then gave his talk on Devonian plants.   Craig took the group on a more detailed walk through the Devonian.  He set the stage in the Silurian and discussed the development of non-vascular plants like Liverworts and vascular plants like the Cooksonia.  Also related to the group were the positions of the continents during the Silurian and the Devonian and the climate during those periods and how that may have influenced the development of plant life.  The position of the North American continent “to be” in the land masses at the time, which were mainly south of the equator, was pointed out.  The major groups of vascular plants had their origins in the Devonian and included the Lycopsids (club mosses, spike mosses, and quillworts), the Monilophytes, (ferns, calamites, etc.), and the Seed Plants (Archeopteris).   The lycopods and how they were to become the dominant plant forms in the coal swamps of the succeeding Carboniferous period was discussed.  Finally, the development of seed plants and progymnosperms resulted in true trees with wood and forests by the late Devonian.

 

The third talk was by Carl Fechko on “Diatoms”.  Carl preceded his talk with a request to the group that he not be included in the paleobotany competition because he had won on both the two previous years.  Carl then proceeded to give a very lively talk on the diatoms.  These were microscopic plant organisms that are almost unique in secreting an internal skeleton or framework of silica or SiO2 (The chemical substance that make up quartz and sand).  These skeletons are very intricate and beautiful and Carol showed many images to the delight of the audience.  Carl also discussed the large deposits of diatoms found in California which is called diatomaceous earth.  Also discussed was the use of diatomaceous earth in products like filter media for swimming pools, toothpaste, and as an insecticide.  All in all it was very interesting.

 

It was another great group of talks and a very worthy competition.  The vote of the audience gave the 2006 Dinkar Chitaley Award to Mike Nathal.  After the presentation of a very nice Sycamore or Platanus leaf fossil from the Green River formation to Mike, the meeting was adjourned.