Send an E-mail: jim.basinger@artsandscience.usask.ca
Jim Basinger is a macrofossil paleobotanist who came to the Department in 1981. His main fields of interest are the early evolution of land plants and the Tertiary record of vegetation and environments, particularly in the north polar regions.
Much of his research has been carried out in the Canadian High Arctic. Since 1982 he has undertaken field work on Ellesmere, Axel Heiberg, Bathurst, and Melville islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, as well as the Yukon and the southwestern Northwest Territories. He also carries out research in southern Saskatchewan & British Columbia.
Silurian and Devonian rocks of Arctic Canada preserve an exceptional record of early land plant evolution. On Bathurst Island, Late Silurian to Early Devonian deposits yield arguably the finest pre-Emsian flora in North America. Ludlow deposits have provided evidence for early evolution of morphological complexity. Pragian sediments reveal a zosterophyll-dominated assemblage, including many whole plants, which shed light on the nature of early rooting organs. On Ellesmere and Melville islands, deposits of Givetian to Famennian age include remains of early trees and their paleosols, providing insights into the evolution of early forest ecosystems.
Early Tertiary sediments of the Sverdrup Basin preserve an outstanding record of polar vegetation prior to the onset of Tertiary global climatic deterioration. Fossils of a rich regional forest, dominated by members of the redwood, walnut, oak, pine, birch, and sycamore families, among many others, are found in abundance on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands. The fossil forests of Axel Heiberg Island, where mummified wood and leaf litters are exquisitely preserved, have been a particularly significant discovery. Early to Late Tertiary fossils of the Far North provide evidence for mild polar paleoclimate, which adds to our understanding of global paleoenvironments and global climate change. Fossil woods are currently being assessed for their usefulness in evaluation of polar temperatures and rainfall patterns through stable isotopic geochemical analysis (in collaboration with W. Patterson).
Jim Basinger is currently an associate editor for the Canadian Journal of Botany and the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. He has served as Department Head since 1996. His teaching includes introductory historical geology, earth systems science, introductory biology, and plant evolution.
Topics for potential graduate student projects include:
- Devonian plants of the Canadian Arctic
- Early Tertiary plants and climate of Arctic and Western Canada.
Selected Recent Publications
Kotyk, M.E.A., Basinger, J.F., and McIver, E.E. 2003. Early Tertiary Chamaecyparis Spach from Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic. Canadian Journal of Botany, v. 81, p. 113-130.
Kotyk, M.E., Basinger, J.F., Gensel, P.G., and de Freitas, T.A. 2002. Morphologically complex plant macrofossils from the Late Silurian of Arctic Canada. American Journal of Botany, v. 89, p. 1004-1013.
Gensel, P.G., Kotyk, M.E., and Basinger, J.F. 2001. Morphology of above- and below-ground structures in Early Devonian (Pragian-Emsian) plants. In: Gensel, P.G. and Edwards, D. (eds.) Plants Invade the Land: Evolutionary and Environmental Perspectives. Columbia University Press, New York. p. 83-102.
Liu, Y-S. and Basinger, J.F. 2000. Fossil Cathaya (Pinaceae) pollen from the Canadian High Arctic. International Journal of Plant Sciences, v. 161, p. 829-847.
Kotyk, M.E. and Basinger, J.F. 2000. The Early Devonian (Pragian) zosterophyll Bathurstia denticulata Hueber. Canadian Journal of Botany, v. 78, p. 193-207.
McIver, E.E. and Basinger, J.F. 1999. Early Tertiary floral evolution in the Arctic. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, v. 86. p. 523-545.
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