Dr. Patricia Bonamo proposes to continue her paleobotanical studies of the Devonian strata of the Catskill Delta region of New York State. A subcontract to Dr. William Shear (Hampden- Sydney College) would extend study of the arthropods found in these deposits. Anatomical analysis of the plants and animals using SEM techniques will provide new data for systematic and evolutionary studies. Systematic and biostratigraphic analysis of the pollen preserved in several cores will be undertaken by Dr. John B. Richardson (British Museum of Natural History). The analysis of these three biotic components (plant megafossils, arthropods and pollen) will lead to a clearer picture of one of the world's oldest preserved terrestrial ecosystems. The Gilboa, New York deposits are generally considered to be a unique window into the dawn of life on dry land, and the proposed research will bring our understanding of these deposits to a new height.
