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Research Team
Research Team
Jayden Schretter
Jayden Schretter
Biology and Geology
Madeline Ess
Madeline Ess
Department of Geology and Environment Sciences
Roxanne Banker
Roxanne Banker
Department of Biology
Providence College
Abstract/Introduction
Abstract/Introduction
Lagerstätten deposits are vital sources of insight into past ecosystem functions and environments. Due to their exceptional preservation, they contain more direct evidence of ecological and geographical relationships than many other types of deposition. Aside from sedimentary data, such as bedforms and grain-size changes, lagerstätten deposits preserve minerals, such as phosphate and pyrite, isotopic signatures, and other indicators of climate transitions Lagerstätten deposits are also well known for preserving soft bodied organisms that are rarely retained in the fossil record. Together these features indicate unique environmental conditions during deposition and showcase ecological information that are typically inaccessible in other preservation modes. Correlations among spatially distant lagerstätten deposits provide a unique opportunity to investigate fossil systems. Because the ecological resolution preserved is unusually high, it is possible to parse out more detailed interactions between taxa and their environment. Such global paleoecological data are vital for investigating how paleoecosystems evolved, interacted with environmental conditions, and in some cases, declined. These long-term perspectives also provide insights into how global biodiversity has changed through time. While the scientific value of lagerstätten deposits is clear, research remains extremely challenging because of the highly decentralized nature of the literature. This review addresses that limitation by compiling a database of global lagerstätten and their features, including age, global location, depositional environment, preservation type, and associated organisms. In addition to this data, global lagerstätten are associated with primary source authors, which eases future reviews of lagerstätten deposits and facilitates global collaboration across the field. Lagerstätten deposits contain troves of unparalleled information regarding the deep past of Earth’s ecosystem and insights into our future. A readily available database of these deposits will enable other workers to apply new techniques to these deposits, ultimately leading to greater understanding of both ancient and modern ecosy
Research Questions
Research Questions
How should marine Lagerstätten be categorized in datasets, especially allowing for easy research and comparisons across geologic time?
How has species diversity and richness changed through deep time and what evolutionary impolications might that have.
Methods
Methods
Data for each deposit were compiled from published sources for the foremost global marine lagerstätten.
A database was assembled to synthesize each deposit.
Phyla percentages and species data were collected from a dataset originating from PBDB, supplemented by published datasets
Figures
Figures
Figure 1. A Graph Showing Increase Species Richness from the Precambrian to Modern Time.
Figure 1. A graph showing species richness as controlled by the age of deposition. The Mazon Creek and Solnhofen biotas are approximately equivalent and are the most species-rich of the studied deposits. Pre-Cambrian deposits contain an average of 74.6 species, which increases to 249.5 in the Devonian. The Permian and Triassic have relatively low species richness, which increases again until the Eocene, when deposits contain 330 species.
Figure 2. Graphs Showing the Percentages of Phyla in the 10 Most Diverse Deposits
Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the phylum diversity of a selection of the most common phyla in the top ten most species-rich formations, with the height of each section of the bar proportional to the percentage of that phylum. The Burgess Shale, Fezouata biota, and Herefordshire are the most diverse, with 12 common phyla. The Marjum biota is the second-most-diverse of the studied deposits.
Discussion
Discussion
The most diverse lagerstätten, based on publicly available taxonomic information, were the Burgess Shale, the Fezouta biota, and the Herefordshire, each containing 12 common phyla. Each is a Cambrian-age deposit and contains significantly lower species richness than later deposits, such as the Solnhofen. These data suggest that early animal evolution was rapid, with nearly all modern phyla evolving by 530 mya, but that communities at this time were smaller or more fragmented than later ones. Except for a few outliers, which represent exceptionally well-studied deposits, Lagerstätten show an increasing trend in species richness over time, possibly due to greater community connectedness. While data availability is an ongoing issue, our data suggest that early animal evolution occurred rapidly and nearly all modern phyla existed in the Cambrian. As these early animal communities evolved, each phylum developed greater complexity, leading to greater global connectivity and more efficient resource use, both of which would increase community richness.
Conclusions and Future Study
Conclusions and Future Study
The development of most modern phyla occurred early in geologic time, indicating rapid evolution.
The early members of each phyla were simpler and communities more disconnected, limiting species richness in early lagerstätten deposits.
Data availability represents the largest challenge to this study.
Future research should focus on locating or creating complete datasets for each deposit, utilizing additional metrics of ecological complexity, and accounting for additional factors.
Future work should also focus on the ecological complexity of individual deposits as compared to select ancient or modern systems.
NACE Career Readiness Competencies
NACE Career Readiness Competencies
Career & Self-Development: Literature reviews expose one to numerous aspects of the chosen field, effectively preparing one for a career anywhere in paleontology
Communication: Science communication is one of the most valuable skills in the market right now. These presentations and other outreach events prepare one to communicate effectively with anyone
Professionalism: Being the primary researcher prepares one to hold oneself accountable for managing time and correcting flaws in the research.
Critical Thinking: This is a wide-ranging research topic that analyzes global ecological trends. Critical thinking is necessary to synthesize applicable global events into understandable trends.
Map of the Modern Locations of Each Investigated Laggerstatten
References
References
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