Edwin Cadena
Edwin Cadena
Address
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Center of Tropical Paleoecology and Archeology
Balboa Ancon Panama AS 0843-03092
geodwins@yahoo.com.mx
http://myprofile.cos.com/geodwin
Education
Universidad Industrial de Santander B.S 2003 Geologist.
Grants and Fellowships
Primerregistro fósil de un bosque tropical (Paleoclima y Paleodiversidad).
Fundaciónpara la promoción de la Investigación y Tecnología.
Jaramillo,C, Cadena, E, Herrera, F and Gómez, C.
Bancode La Republica de Colombia Project 1.901. 2005. (U$ 7.000)
International Student Travel Grant to study the Vertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Florida Museum of Natural History Gainesville-Florida-USA.2004. (U$ 500)
LernerGray Memorial Fund for Marine Research of the Americam Museum of NaturalHistory. NewYork- USA. 2003. (U$ 1.900)
Memberships
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Selected Bibliography
Notoemys zapatocaensis, a new side-necked turtle (Pleurodira: Platychelyidae) from theEarly Cretaceous of Colombia.
EdwinCadena & Eugene Gaffney.
AmericamMuseum Novitates
Vol470. Issue:1 Pags 1-19. March 2005
Research Interests
My research interests focuses on vertebrate paleontology specially studies onsystematics, evolutionary history, paleobiogeography and stable isotopesapplied to paleoclimate reconstructions. I have been working during the lasttwo years on systematics and paleobiogeography of fossil turtles of SouthAmerica and I would like to work solving questions about the phylogeny andpaleobiogeography of this group and other South America vertebrates, and itspotential utility in the reconstruction of tropical paleoclimate duringCenozoic time. I like to address these questions using statistical,mathematical and stable isotopes methods.
Current Research
Whatforms of pelomedusoides turtles and crocodyloformes lived at NorternSouth America during the late Paleocene, how was its diversity andpaleoecology?
At present, I am working on the determination of the systematics of the first latePaleocene fauna from Northern South America constitute by pelomedusoides turtles andcrocodyliformes fossils found at Cerrejon Coal Mine, Guajira Peninsula NorthernColombia. At lot of shell turtles of different sizes some of them with limbsand cranial fragments found at Cerrejon Formation are pleurodires orside-necked turtles belonging to the hyperfamily Pelomedusoides (family and genusunder determination), it which a group of turtles that has showed a diverse andabundant fossil record in freshwater and marine sequences, since the Cretaceouswhen they were spread around the world until today when they are restricted toSouth America and Africa continents.
Interest for my Master of Science
Whatis the potential utility of the Cerrejon vertebrates in the determination oflate Paleocene tropical climate using stable isotopes?
Stableisotopes of fossil vertebrates has gained wide acceptance in the reconstructionof ancient continental climates and environments. Oxygen isotopes 18O/ 16O on freshwaterturtle-bone, teeth of reptiles and mammals as well as fish scales have been usedfor estimate paleoenvironmental water isotopic composition, paleotemperatureand Precipitation-Evaporation ratios at mid to high latitudes. But, for thetropics this vision is different and anything has been done with oxygenisotopes in terrestrial localities, so that the climate past conditions assumedfor the tropics are always extrapolations of data found in mid-high latitudesor isotopes on marine fossils. I would like to evaluate the potential utilityof Cerrejon turtles and crocodiles in the determination of late Paleoceneterrestrial climate using for that oxygen isotopes on biogenic mineralscontents inside the bones, teeth and scales. The isotopic response obtained bythe oxygen isotopes will be compared with the paleotemperature and paleoprecipitationdata obtained by leaf margin analysis method applied on leaves fossil bearingat the same locality.
Future Research
I would like to continue working on the reconstruction of the Cenozoic tropicalpaleoclimate using stable oxygen isotopes and other geochemical tools invertebrate fossils and formulating new perspectives about the phylogeny,paleoecology and response of South America vertebrates to the mayors geologicaland climatic events. For that, I am going to realize new fieldworks as Cerrejonlocality as in other continental sequences of Colombia and Venezuela funding bygrants from Banco de la Republica de Colombia, Chelonia Research Foundation andother institutions.
Somequestions and subjects on which I would like to work are:
Oxygen isotopes record on the La Venta Fauna (South American Land Mammals) middleMiocene of Colombia, its paleoclimatic implications.
What are the principal causes on the extinctions and originations on pelomedusoides fossil turtles?
Could be the homoplasy on fossil and extant pelomedusoides turtles quantificatedby statistical and morphometrics methods, what will be its impact on systematicand phylogeny of this group?
Published Abstracts of Papers Presented at Professional Meetings
Bloch,J. Cadena, E. Herrera, F Wing, S and Jaramillo, C. Paleocene vertebrates fromthe Cerrejon Formation, Guajira Peninsula, Northeastern Colombia in:Sisty-Fifth annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Mesa Arizona USAOctober 2005 Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Vol 25, Supplement to Number 3September 2005
Elmas antiguo Pleurodiro del Norte de Suramerica?
IXColombian Geology Congress Medellin Colombia July 2003
Taxonomiay variacion morfologica de la especie "Trilongicolpites perbonus" en secuenciascontinentals de Colombia / Taxonomy and morphological variation of species "Trilongicolpitesperbonus"in continental sequences of Colombia IX Colombian Geology Congress MedellinColombia July 2003