MS OEB Kerin M. Claeson



Curriculum vitae

Publications

Contact

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Curriculum vitae

Education

Since 08.2005 PhD student at the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Thesis: Ontogeny and Systematics of Derived Sharks, Skates, and Rays (Elasmobranchii: "Hypnosqualea")
Summer 2007 Non-matriculated graduate student in Human Gross Anatomy, University of Stony Brook, New York, U.S.A.
05.2005 MSc in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Thesis: New Interpretations of the skull of a primitive bony fish; Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Cladistia)
01.2002-05.2005 MSc student at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
12.2001 BSc in Geology at the University of Stony Brook, New York, U.S.A.
08.1997-12.2001 BSc student at the Department of Geology at the University of Stony Brook, New York, U.S.A.
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Research/Field Experience

Since 2008 Scientific fellow at the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany (The Thomas R. Banks Memoiral Scholarship from the San Antonia Foundation)
01.2006-12.2007 Research assistant, ATOL/DigiMorph/UTCT, The Morphster Ontology Workgroup, University of Texas at Austin (www.morphster.org)
09.2007 Field assistant for RV Suncoaster Castro 2007 Deep Water Cruise (together with Jose Castro, Mote Marine Labs)
08.2006 Panel member. Developing and Integrating Taxonomic Databases for the 21st Century. NSF and NESCent -sponsored workshop; endorsed by The Paleontological Society
07.2004-07.2005 CT Technician, Amherst College Geology
August 2003 Field assistant with Field Museum of Natural History expedition to Green River Formation, Kemmerer, Wyoming
July 2002 Lab assistant with University of Massachusetts trip to Dauphin Island Sea Lab/Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo
March 2003 Field assistant with American Museum of Natural History/Antorchas Foundation expedition to Patagonia, Argentina
02.2002-03.2002 Field assistant with American Museum of Natural History/Antorchas Foundation expedition to Patagonia, Argentina
06.2001-08.2001 Intern in the Department of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA. Project advisor, Ted Daeschler
08.2001-05.2002 Program Assistant for MorphoBank Workshop, American Museum of Natural History, New York
01.2001-12.2002 Research Assistant, Anatomy Department, Stony Brook University, New York. Project advisor, Maureen O'Leary
08.1997-12.1998 Lab Assistant in, Neurobiology, Stony Brook University, New York. Advisor Marian Evinger
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Teaching/Outreach Experience

May 2004 Guest Speaker: "Fossil Finds" (New York State: Miller Place School District; Three Village School District; Stony Brook University Hospital Pediatrics Ward)
May 2006 Guest Speaker: "Fossil Finds" (New York State: Miller Place School District; Three Village School District; Stony Brook University Hospital Pediatrics Ward)
Fall 2005 Life Through Time, teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.
Academic year 2004/05 Undergraduate students advised at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Andrew Williston, Andrew Whynot)
08.2003 - 08.2004 Graduate student body president, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Spring 2005 Vertebrate Paleontology, teaching assistant, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Fall 2004 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, teaching assistant, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Fall 2003 Introduction to Biology, teaching assistant, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Spring 2003 Introduction to Animal Biology, teaching assistant, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Spring 2004 Introduction to Animal Biology, teaching assistant, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, U.S.A.
01.2002 - 12.2002 Special Projects Designer, Long Island Museum of Natural Sciences in association with Women in Science and Engineering
Fall 2001 Life Through Time, teaching assistant at the University of Stony Brook, New York, U.S.A.
01.2000 - 08.2002 Mentor/Educator Women for Women Science and Mentor program
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Membership in professional organizations

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Ichtyology and Herbetology
American Elasmobranch Society
The Palaeontological Association
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Research Statement

Ontogeny and systematics of elasmobranchs:
I seek to bridge the disciplines of paleontology, comparative anatomy, and embryology to address the discrepancy between phylogenetic hypotheses of elasmobranch interrelationships. Phylogenetic hypotheses have a significant impact on the estimations paleontologists can make of diversification events. Ontogenetic studies of elasmobranch fishes, conducted for more than a century have been instrumental in our understanding of all levels of vertebrate evolution. Data from these studies have never been included, however, in phylogenetic analyses of the interrelationships of the elasmobranchs themselves. Drastically different alternative hypotheses of elasmobranch phylogenetic systematics based on molecules and morphology indicate researchers must utilize different and/or additional criteria when analyzing the interrelationships of controversial vertebrates such as the elasmobranchs.

Teeth!
I also look at the dentition of these fishes in detail. The condition of the fossil record for elasmobranchs is remarkable and painful at the same time. Occasionally, there will be exceptionally preserved, whole-bodied fossils like those which come from the Bavarian Limestones, but more often the earth is littered with thousands and thousands of teeth! Part of my research is examining these teeth to characterize their morphology for phylogenetic analyses. With so many teeth that represent life for so many millions of years, they represent a powerful partial history for understanding the evolution of elasmobranchs.

Tiny fish heads
Before starting my research on elasmobranchs, I worked a lot with tiny fish.

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Academic Grants and Awards

February 2008 Dorothy Ogden Carsey Memorial Scholarship
January 2008 Banks Fellowship from San Antonio Area Foundation more...
November 2007 DeepFin Student Exchange Programm (Summer research at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) more...
September 2007 Francis L. Whitney Endowed Presidential Scholarship
May 2007 Gulf Coast Association for Geological Sciences
April 2007 First runner-up, 2007 MAPS Outstanding Student Research Award
March 2007 Jackson School Off-Campus Research Award
January 2004 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Student Support
January 2005 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Student Support
January 2006 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Student Support
January 2005 University of Massachusetts Graduate Student Travel Fund
December 2003 Field Museum of Natural History Visiting Scholars Grant
October 2002 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Travel Grant
October 2003 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Travel Grant
October 2004 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Travel Grant
09.2002 - 12.2002 Graduate Fellow, North East Alliance Fellowship/OEB
Fall 1999-Fall 2001 Dean's List, Stony Brook University
09.1997 - 12.2001 Women in Science and Engineering Scholarship
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Conferences and Symposia

  • Chondrichthyan Meeting I - Evolution and Diversity of Chondrichthyans, Warsaw, Poland (2008)
    • Talk Variation of the synarcual in the California Ray Raja inornata (Elasmobranchii: Rajidae).
  • 67th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. (2007)
    • Poster First fossil batoids (Elasmobranchii) from the Calvert Bluff Formation (Eocene), Bastrop, Texas
  • 66th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (2006)
    • Talk Anatomy of the Very Tiny: Tomographic insights into morphology of extinct and extant fishes (Co-authored by J.G. Lundberg & J.W. Hagadorn)
  • 109th Meeting of the Texas Academy of Sciences, Beaumont, Texas, U.S.A. (2006)
    • Talk Micro Catfish Micro CATscan
  • Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. (2006)
    • Talk Micro catfish Micro CATscan (Co-authored by J.G. Lundberg)
  • 65th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. (2005)
    • Talk Inside the skull of a primitive bony fish, Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Cladistia), the Ropefish
  • Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, San Diego, California, U.S.A. (2005)
    • Talk The skull of Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Polypteridae), the ropefish
  • 4th International Meeting on Mesozoic Fishes - Systematics, homology, and Nomenclature, Madrid, Spain (2005)
    • Talk Earliest record of the eagle ray Aetobatus (Rajiformes, Myliobatinae), from the Late Cretaceous of Mali, and a new look at myliobatine interrelationships (Co-authored by M. Gottfried)
  • Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. (2004)
    • Poster Ceratodontiformes (Pisces: Dipnoi) of Argentina (Co-authored by F.L. Agnolín & S. Apesteguía, S.)
  • 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A. (2003)
    • Poster New Specimen of Dissacus (Mammalia, Mesonychia) from Palette, southern France, and a cladistic analysis of Dissacus species (Co-authored by M. Godinot & M.A. O'Leary)
  • 9th Conference on Geolgoy of Long Island and Metropolitan New York, New York, U.S.A. (2002)
    • Poster A Petrographic Study of Devonian Teeth from Clinton County, Pennsylvania (Co-authored by J. Nienstedt, G. Spataro, J. Cole, T. Rasbury & A. Lanzirotti)
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    Publications

    Peer-reviewed papers
    • Claeson, K. M. & Hagadorn, J. W. in press. The occipital region in the basal bony fish Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Cladistia). Journal of Fish Biology.
    • Claeson, K. M. 2008. Variation of the synarcual in the California Ray, Raja inornata (Elasmobranchii: Rajidae). Acta Geologica Polonica 58: 121-126.
    • Claeson, K.M., Hagadorn, J.W., Luckenbill, K. & Lundberg, J.G. 2008. Anatomy of the Very Tiny: First Description of the Head Skeleton of the Rare South American Catfish Sarcoglanis simplex (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae). Palaeontologia Electronica 11(2): 6A. more...
    • Apesteguía, S., Agnolín, F.L. & Claeson, K.M. 2007. Review of Cretaceous dipnoans from Argentina (Sarcopterygii: Dipnoi) with descriptions of new species. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" 9: 27-40.
    • Claeson, K.M., Hagadorn, J.W. & Bemis, W.E. 2007. New interpretations of the skull of a primitive bony fish; Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Cladistia). Journal of Morphology 268: 1021-1039.
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    Non peer-reviewed papers
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    Published conference presentations
    • Claeson, K. M. 2008. Variation of the synarcual in the California Ray, Raja inornata (Elasmobranchii: Rajidae). Ichthyolith Issues, Special Publication 11: 2.
    • Claeson, K.M. & Stidham, T. 2007. First fossil batoids (Elasmobranchii) from the Calvert Bluff Formation (Eocene), Bastrop, Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(3, Suppl.): 59A.
    • Claeson, K.M., Lundberg, J.G. & Hagadorn, J.W. 2006. Anatomy of the Very Tiny: Tomographic insights into morphology of extinct and extant fishes. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3, Suppl.): 50A.
    • Claeson, K.M. & Lundberg, J.G. 2006. Micro catfish Micro CATscan. Texas Academy of Sciences, Annual Meeting.
    • Claeson, K.M. & Lundberg, J.G. 2006. Micro catfish Micro CATscan. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Annual Meeting.more...
    • Claeson, K.M. 2005. Inside the skull of a primitive bony fish, Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Cladistia), the Ropefish. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(3, Suppl.): 45A.
    • Claeson, K.M. & Gottfried, M. 2005. Earliest record of the eagle ray Aetobatus (Rajiformes, Myliobatinae), from the Late Cretaceous of Mali, and a new look at myliobatine interrelationships. Fourth International Meeting on Mesozoic Fishes.
    • Claeson, K.M. 2005. The skull of Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Actinopterygii: Polypteridae), the ropefish. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology 2005 Annual Meeting: 122.
    • Claeson, K.M., Agnolín, F.L. & Apesteguía, S. 2004. Ceratodontiformes (Pisces: Dipnoi) of Argentina. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology 2004 Annual Meeting: 166.
    • Claeson, K.M.,Godinot, M. & O'Leary, M.A. 2003. New Specimen of Dissacus (Mammalia, Mesonychia) from Palette, southern France, and a cladistic analysis of Dissacus species. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(3, Suppl.): 41A.
    • Nienstedt, J., Claeson, K.M., Spataro, G., Cole, J., Rasbury, T. & Lanzirotti, A. 2002. A Petrographic Study of Devonian Teeth from Clinton County, Pennsylvania. Program for the conference on Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York.more...
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    Unpublished conference presentations
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    Miscellaneous
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    Contact
    Humboldt-University of Berlin
    Museum für Naturkunde
    Department of Research
    Invalidenstr. 43
    D-10115 Berlin
    Germany

    phone: +49 (0)30 2093 8764
    fax: +49 (0)30 2093 8565


    mail:
    kerin.claeson@museum.hu-berlin.de

    web:
    www.museum.hu-berlin.de/Kerin.Claeson http://bellweb.geo.utexas.edu/Kerin