Bivalve Taxonomy and Paleoecology Following the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction
Mentor 1
Margaret Fraiser
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
28-4-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
28-4-2017 4:00 PM
Description
The earth experienced the largest known drop in biodiversity at the end of the Permian period, with the elimination of ~78% of marine invertebrate genera. Some evidence suggests that at least 5 million years elapsed before life on Earth returned to pre-extinction diversity in the Middle Triassic. However, the nature of the biotic recovery is still poorly known, even though the end-Permian mass extinction and the Early Triassic aftermath have been extensively studied and their significance is widely acknowledged. The main objective of this research is to determine the taxonomy and paleoecology of bivalves that lived in the marine environments during the Middle Triassic. By employing standard paleoecological techniques and statistical tests, this research will determine the important aspects of post-extinction ecological structure and will lead to an understanding of the spatial and temporal nature of ecosystem renewal after major biotic crises in deep time. The methodology is studying skeletonized fossil specimens collected from the Middle Triassic strata in Nevada to identify and take inventory. The objective is to determine which organisms were taxonomically and numerically abundant, mean rank-order, breadth of distribution, the Simpson's index (D), the Shannon Index (H'), evenness, and dominance, which are being calculated for each of the fossil accumulations. The fossil data is used to construct time-environment diagrams by stage to visualize the paleoenvironmental context of biotic patterns. The primary research outcome is the first quantitative analysis of these Middle Triassic paleocommunities from Nevada. This represents an important first step in more fully understanding how ecosystems bounce back from environmental disaster, and the results may allow scientists to better predict future effects of climate change on modern ecosystems.
Bivalve Taxonomy and Paleoecology Following the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction
Union Wisconsin Room
The earth experienced the largest known drop in biodiversity at the end of the Permian period, with the elimination of ~78% of marine invertebrate genera. Some evidence suggests that at least 5 million years elapsed before life on Earth returned to pre-extinction diversity in the Middle Triassic. However, the nature of the biotic recovery is still poorly known, even though the end-Permian mass extinction and the Early Triassic aftermath have been extensively studied and their significance is widely acknowledged. The main objective of this research is to determine the taxonomy and paleoecology of bivalves that lived in the marine environments during the Middle Triassic. By employing standard paleoecological techniques and statistical tests, this research will determine the important aspects of post-extinction ecological structure and will lead to an understanding of the spatial and temporal nature of ecosystem renewal after major biotic crises in deep time. The methodology is studying skeletonized fossil specimens collected from the Middle Triassic strata in Nevada to identify and take inventory. The objective is to determine which organisms were taxonomically and numerically abundant, mean rank-order, breadth of distribution, the Simpson's index (D), the Shannon Index (H'), evenness, and dominance, which are being calculated for each of the fossil accumulations. The fossil data is used to construct time-environment diagrams by stage to visualize the paleoenvironmental context of biotic patterns. The primary research outcome is the first quantitative analysis of these Middle Triassic paleocommunities from Nevada. This represents an important first step in more fully understanding how ecosystems bounce back from environmental disaster, and the results may allow scientists to better predict future effects of climate change on modern ecosystems.
