Reconstructing the habitat mosaic associated with Australopithecus robustus: Evidence from quantitative morphological analysis of bovid teeth

Reconstructing the Habitat Mosaic Associated with Australopithecus robustus: Evidence from a Quantitative Morphological Analysis of Bovid Teeth. (December 2011) Juliet Krueger Brophy, B.S., University of Michigan, 2002; B.A., University of Michigan; M.A., University of Tennessee Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Darryl de Ruiter This research better resolves the environmental mosaic that is typically reconstructed for the A. robustus-bearing faunal assemblages of South Africa and evaluates whether A. robustus were habitat specialists or habitat generalists by testing whether they are associated with numerous, different reconstructed habitats, or if they can be associated with a single, more homogeneous habitat type. Determining the habitat preferences of A. robustus holds important implications for understanding the behavior of these hominins and, potentially, for understanding whether their ultimate extinction might have been climatically influenced, as fluctuations in the environments associated with the robust australopiths provide direct evidence about the responses of hominins to environmental change. To achieve this, a 2dimensionsal morphometric tool was developed for accurately identifying the abundant bovid teeth that are found in direct association with the hominins using Elliptical Fourier Function Analysis. More accurate taxonomic identifications facilitate more precise estimates of the relative abundance of ecologically sensitive bovids, allowing for finer resolution when segmenting the various components of the reconstructed habitat mosaics. The fossil bovids from Cooper’s D and Swartkrans HR, LB, M2 and M3 were identified and their relative