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Mark Patzkowsky's research focuses on the ecological, evolutionary, and geological processes that control the diversity, distribution, and abundance of fossil taxa through time and space. His laboratory has conducted fieldwork across various significant geological periods, including the Cambrian in Montana and the Devonian in central Pennsylvania. The studies aim to understand the effects of stratigraphic frameworks on the preservation and distribution of fossils. Additionally, the lab investigates geographic and environmental patterns related to extinctions and recoveries from significant events such as the Late Ordovician and end-Cretaceous mass extinctions. By employing a phylogenetic framework, he analyzes large-scale ecological patterns of extinction and diversification, linking paleoecology with phylogenetics to assess the ecological and evolutionary impacts of major extinction events. Mark has been a member of the faculty at the Department of Geosciences at Penn State since 1992, teaching various undergraduate and graduate-level courses. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he has served on editorial boards, including as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Paleobiology, and has received multiple awards from the Paleontological Society, being elected a Fellow of both the Paleontological Society and the Geological Society of America.
Penn State University • University Park, PA
Joined the faculty of the Department of Geosciences in 1992, teaching a variety of courses in paleoecology and geology.
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