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Kay BehrensmeyerAmerican paleontologist (taphonomist and paleoecologist).
Country:
 USA |
Content:
- Biography of Kay Behrensmeyer
- Education and Early Career
- Collaboration with Richard Leakey
- Academic Career and Research
- Research in Amboseli National Park
- Recognition
Biography of Kay Behrensmeyer
Kay Catherine "Kay" Behrensmeyer is an American paleontologist, taphonomist, and paleoecologist. She is known for her pioneering work in studying the paleontological record of terrestrial ecosystems.
Education and Early Career
Kay Behrensmeyer earned her Bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis. In 1968, she conducted a detailed study of the Lothagam Formation, a Kenyan paleontological formation dating to the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. Within the framework of stratigraphy, Behrensmeyer identified six distinct lithostratigraphic units. She later compiled a table for 400 fossil samples collected in 1967 and published a faunal list for the Lothagam Formation in 1976.
Collaboration with Richard Leakey
As a graduate student at Harvard University in 1969, Behrensmeyer received an invitation from paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey to join his team as a geologist and study Koobi Fora in Kenya. Accepting the invitation, Behrensmeyer discovered a cluster of stone tools embedded in volcanic tuff, a layer of ash from an ancient eruption that filled a small paleochannel. The discovery site was named "Kay Behrensmeyer Site," and one of the "marker beds" of volcanic tuff was designated as the "Kay Behrensmeyer Tuff" (KBT) after her initials. The tools were similar to those found by Mary Leakey in Olduvai Gorge. The team used radioisotopic dating methods to determine that the fossils were approximately 2.6 million years old, sparking heated debates within the scientific community. Subsequent independent investigations settled on an age of around 1.9 million years.
Academic Career and Research
In 1973, Behrensmeyer earned her Ph.D. in vertebrate paleontology and sedimentology from Harvard University. Her dissertation was published in 1975. She held various positions at UC Berkeley, Yale, and UC Santa Cruz before starting her career at the Smithsonian Institution in 1981. From 1987, Behrensmeyer served as one of the directors of the National Museum of Natural History's program on the functioning and evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. From 1993 to 1996, she served as the Acting Deputy Director for Science at the National Museum of Natural History. Behrensmeyer also held editorial roles in journals such as Paleobiology, PALAIOS, Palaeoclimates, and the Journal of Human Evolution. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona and George Washington University.
Research in Amboseli National Park
In addition to her research in paleoecology and taphonomy of hominid trace fossil localities, including the Baringo Basin, Behrensmeyer conducted a long-term study on the burial patterns of modern vertebrate remains in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Starting in 1975 in collaboration with ecologist David Western, Behrensmeyer conducted censuses of living animals and recovered remains every five to ten years. The study demonstrated that fossil animal communities from tropical environments can be used to infer ancient habitats when post-depositional taphonomic biases are accounted for.
Recognition
In 2002, Kay Behrensmeyer was included in Discover magazine's list of the "50 Most Influential Women in Science." She is married to William Kaiser, and they have two children.
