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Models for fossil concentrations: paleobiologic implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Susan M. Kidwell
Susan M. Kidwell*
Affiliation:
Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Abstract

Four basic types of skeletal concentrations are modeled in terms of changes in sedimentation rate alone. The model categorizes fossil concentrations on the relatively objective basis of their bed contacts, and uses this criterion to infer directional shifts in net sedimentation. This radical simplification of accumulation histories, in which hardpart input is held constant, yields a surprisingly powerful model capable of predicting a broad spectrum of taphonomic and paleobiologic phenomena. Type I concentrations grade from less fossiliferous sediments and terminate in omission surfaces; if hardpart supply is held constant, they record a slowdown from positive to zero net sedimentation. Type II concentrations are the same as Type I but terminate in erosion surfaces (slowdown to negative net sedimentation), and Type III and IV concentrations are characterized by basal erosion or omission surfaces, respectively, grade upward into less fossiliferous sediments, and record increases in net sedimentation from negative or zero rates to positive rates. According to the model, samples collected from successive horizons within any of these shell beds will differ in the degree and type of post-mortem bias owing to differing histories of hardpart exposure at the depositional interface. Moreover, because rates of sediment accumulation govern the abundance of hardparts at the depositional interface and thus many of the physical characteristics of the benthic habitat, the dynamics of fossil accumulation have direct consequences for the structure of benthic communities (taphonomic feedback) and for ecologically controlled species morphometry.

The model is highly robust to fluctuations in hardpart input, as judged by its ability to correctly infer modes of formation of concentrations in synthetic stratigraphic sections. In addition, field examples of Type I–IV concentrations show independent evidence of formation during intervals of reduced net sedimentation, and many exhibit trends in taphonomic and paleobiologic features expected from the postulated changes in net sedimentation. The model thus provides a testable working hypothesis for the accumulation of fossil material in a wide range of environments, and should be applicable to concentrations of any taxonomic composition, state of preservation, or geologic age. The power and robustness of this heuristic model in fact argue that fossil-rich and fossil-poor strata provide fundamentally different records of past conditions, and that sedimentation rather than hardpart input is the primary control on the nature of the fossil record.

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Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , Winter 1986 , pp. 6 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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