John D. Orcutt

Biography

Lecturer Gonzaga University  PhD in Geological Sciences, 2011 Dissertation: Climate & Ecological Change in Oligo-Miocene Mammals  MSc in Palaeobiology, 2007 Thesis: Tetrapod alpha diversity across the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary

Research Interest

The core of my research is paleoecology, the study of the interactions between organisms and their environments through time. I am especially interested in the the factors that have influenced the evolution of carnivorous mammals and in using the fossil and paleoenvironmental records of northwestern North America as a natural laboratory for studying the factors that drive ecological change. See the lists below for the specific questions that motivate my research, as well as for an overview of undergraduate projects I have overseen in the past. If you're a Gonzaga student that shares some of these interests, I'm always happy to take on new researchers and research projects.