Journal article
The impact of lithification on the diversity, size distribution, and recovery dynamics of marine invertebrate assemblages
Geology (Boulder), v 37(2), pp 115-118
01 Feb 2009
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Abstract
Lithified marine sediments am not equitably distributed through time, raising the possibility that lithification masks biological signals when data from unlithified and lithified sediments are compared or combined. Using mollusk-dominated assemblages from the early Cenozoic of the Gulf Coastal Plain, we find that lithification conceals small taxa, decreases taxonomic resolution, and exacerbates the undersampling of rare taxa. Lithified assemblages appear less diverse and have less even abundance distributions than coeval unlithified samples. These limitations cannot be overcome by standardization procedures, nor are they likely to be circumvented by collecting larger samples. The effects of this bias, however, can be mitigated by restricting analyses to a single lithification state or to specific size classes. Since lithification selectively obscures small taxa, the magnitude of this bias will be most severe when organisms are particularly small, such as in the aftermath of mass extinctions. In the study area, lithification artificially protracts the recovery period following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction by similar to 7 m.y.
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Details
- Title
- The impact of lithification on the diversity, size distribution, and recovery dynamics of marine invertebrate assemblages
- Creators
- Jocelyn A. Sessa - Pennsylvania State UniversityMark E. Patzkowsky - Pennsylvania State UniversityTimothy J. Bralower - Pennsylvania State University
- Publication Details
- Geology (Boulder), v 37(2), pp 115-118
- Publisher
- Geological Soc Amer, Inc
- Number of pages
- 4
- Grant note
- EAR-0318584; EAR-0120727 / National Science Foundation grants; National Science Foundation (NSF) Dunbar Grants in Aid Program NNX07AK62G; NNX07AK64G / NASA grants Peabody Museum Schuchert American Museum of Natural History Theodore Roosevelt Grant Paleontological Society Geological Society of America
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000263096900005
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-60949096414
- Other Identifier
- 991021013069204721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Geology