David Patterson, Ph.D.
Area(s) of Expertise: Paleontology, Mammal Ecology, Stable Isotopes (Advising Area of Expertise: Biology, Pre-Physician's Assistant)
Courses Taught
- BIOL 3500K – Ecology
- BIOL 4450 – Evolutionary Biology
- BIOL 4700 – Senior Seminar
Research/Special Interests
Dr. Patterson is interested in the relationship between ecosystem change and mammalian evolution. He uses a variety of methods including traditional paleontological analyses, stable isotope geochemistry, and ecometrics. He has active field and laboratory projects focusing on North American and African mammals ranging from the early Pleistocene to the modern.
Learn about Dr. Patterson's work with the Study of Community and Landscape Evolution (SCALE) Lab at UNG.
Publications
Malasek, T., Barding, E, Bender, M.J., Bonham, A., Mead, A.J., Pilgrim, Z., Powers, P., Patterson, J.R., Patterson, D.B., (Accepted) Evaluating the fidelity of enamel isotopic data and environmental variation: a case study in wild, known-aged, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Patterson, D.B., Du, A., Faith, J.T., Rowan, J., Uno, K., Behrensmeyer, A.K., Braun, D.R., Wood, B.A., (2022) Did vegetation change contribute to the extinction of Paranthropus boisei? Journal of Human Evolution. 173:103154
Seminack, C.T., Thornburg, J.D., Mead, A.J., Mead, H.F., Hadden, C.S., Cherkinsky, A., Patterson, D.B., (2022) Multiproxy investigation of a fluvially reworked late-Pleistocene barrier-island terrace along the southeast United States Atlantic Coastal Plain at Clark Quarry. Quaternary Science Reviews 284:107496
Faith, J.T., Du, A., Behrensmeyer, A.K., Davies, B., Patterson, D.B., Rowan, J., Wood, B.A. (2021) Rethinking the ecological drivers of hominin evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 36:797-807.
Noble, E.J., McManus, J.G., Mead, A.J., Mead, H, Seminack, C., Balco, W., Bennett, T., Crain, N.M., Duckworth, C., Malasek, T., Pearson, J.Z., Rhinehart, P., Ussery, M.E. , Sun, Y., Patterson, J.R., Patterson, D.B. (2020) Enamel isotopes reveal late Pleistocene ecosystem dynamics in southeastern North America. Quaternary Science Reviews. 236:106284.
Patterson, D.B., Braun, D.R., Allen, K., Barr, A.W., Behrensmeyer, A.K., Biernat, M., Lehmann, S.B., Maddox, T., Manthi, F.K., Merritt, S.R., Morris, S.E., O’Brien, K., Reeves, J.S., Wood, B.A., Bobe, R., (2019) Comparative isotopic evidence from East Turkana suggests a dietary shift between early Homo and Homo erectus. Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Patterson, D.B., Braun, D.R., Behrensmeyer, A.K., Merritt, S., Zliobaite, I., Reeves, J.S., Wood, B.A., Fortelius, M., Bobe, R., (2017) Ecosystem evolution and hominin paleobiology at East Turkana, northern Kenya between 2.0 and 1.4 Ma. Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography. 481:1-13.