10-2 Using Modern Analogs to Characterize the Behaviors of Plains Scavengers Within the Fossil Record

Session: Undergraduate and Graduate Geoscience Student Showcase (Posters)

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Abstract:

The recognition of scavenger behavior in the fossil record continues to be a difficult task. Teeth marks and the aggregation of fossils are often the only way to recognize the presence of scavengers. This evidence does not differentiate between an animal acting as a scavenger or as a predator, and does not account for the numerous behaviors modern scavengers exhibit that cannot be preserved within the fossil record. Additionally, the nuances in scavenger behavior from season to season are even harder to account for. While scavengers have been described in other regions, the Great Plains region’s scavengers remain undescribed. With the variety of species in the Great Plains that are present today and found in the fossil record, and with the plains environment remaining similar to what it was in the past in the region, the descriptions of Great Plains behaviors can serve as a modern analog for scavenging behaviors that are not captured by the fossil record. Using coyote carcasses and game cameras, over a winter trial and a late summer/early fall trial, the visitors and their interactions with each carcass were recorded. It was found that while both trials experienced significantly different accumulated degree days, the number of daily total visitors was not significantly different between each trial. With these visitors, no scavenging occurred within the winter trial, while the summer/fall trial saw minor acts of scavenging (picking of fur, burrowing into the chest, full carcass movement). Observationally, the light scavenging appeared not to impact the rate of decomposition when compared to the control carcasses kept in a scavenger-proof enclosure. With the low-impact nature of the observed interactions, they are not likely to be preserved or recognized as scavenging in the fossil record. While each trial did see many of the same carcass visitors, there were species during the summer/fall trial that were then absent during the winter trial. With the observations collected from the trials, it is thought that there are temperature-based nuances to plains species behaviors, with different species present at different temperatures, and no scavenging occurring in cooler temperatures.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 1, 2026

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