Burrows without a trace—How meioturbation affects rock fabrics and leaves a record of meiobenthos activity in shales and mudstones

Schieber, Jüergen; Wilson, Ryan D.

doi:10.1007/s12542-021-00590-7

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Shirayama & Kojima, 1994; Neira et al ., 2001; Guilini et al ., 2011), modifying sediment chemistry (summary of Schratzberger & Ingels, 2018) and producing dense networks of sinusoidal burrows (Cullen, 1973; Pike et al ., 2001) or simply blurring the primary sediment fabric without even discrete traces (Pemberton et al ., 2008), which was also shown by laboratory experiments (Bonaglia et al ., 2014; Schieber & Wilson, 2021). In the ancient record, the activity of meiofauna is under‐represented because of the small size of the organisms and their burrows which cause: (i) tiny burrows that easily undergo compaction; (ii) no lithological difference between the burrow infill and surrounding sediment; and (iii) some in sand are smaller than the grain size (see summary of Schieber & Wilson, 2021). Consequently, recognition of meiofauna burrows in sedimentary rocks is in early development (see also McIlroy, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reproduced under Creative Commons licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), with acknowledgment to Nature. experiments (Bonaglia et al, 2014;Schieber & Wilson, 2021). In the ancient record, the activity of meiofauna is under-represented because of the small size of the organisms and their burrows which cause: (i) tiny burrows that easily undergo compaction; (ii) no lithological difference between the burrow infill and surrounding sediment; and (iii) some in sand are smaller than the grain size (see summary of Schieber & Wilson, 2021).…”

Section: Endobenthosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…experiments (Bonaglia et al, 2014;Schieber & Wilson, 2021). In the ancient record, the activity of meiofauna is under-represented because of the small size of the organisms and their burrows which cause: (i) tiny burrows that easily undergo compaction; (ii) no lithological difference between the burrow infill and surrounding sediment; and (iii) some in sand are smaller than the grain size (see summary of Schieber & Wilson, 2021). Consequently, recognition of meiofauna burrows in sedimentary rocks is in early development (see also McIlroy, 2022).…”

Section: Endobenthosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Keratose sponges in ancient carbonates – A problem of interpretation

et al. 2022

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Reports of diverse vermiform and peloidal structures in Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic open marine to peritidal carbonates include cases interpreted to be keratose sponges. However, living keratose sponges have elaborate, highly elastic skeletons of spongin (a mesoscopic end‐member of a hierarchical assemblage of collagenous structures) lacking spicules, thus have poor preservation potential in contrast to the more easily fossilized spicule‐bearing sponges. Such interpreted fossil keratose sponges comprise diverse layered, network, amalgamated, granular and variegated microfabrics of narrow curved, branching, vesicular–cellular to irregular areas of calcite cement, thought to represent former spongin, embedded in microcrystalline to peloidal carbonate. Interpreted keratose sponges are presented in publications almost entirely in two‐dimensional (thin section) studies, usually displayed normal to bedding, lacking mesoscopic three‐dimensional views in support of a sponge body fossil. For these structures to be keratose sponges critically requires conversion of the spongin skeleton into the calcite cement component, under shallow‐burial conditions and this must have occurred prior to compaction. However, there is no robust petrographic–geochemical evidence that the fine‐grained carbonate component originated from sponge mummification (automicritic body fossils via calcification of structural tissue components) because in the majority of cases the fine‐grained component is homogenous and thus likely to be deposited sediment. Thus, despite numerous studies, verification of fossil keratose sponges is lacking. Although some may be sponges, all can be otherwise explained. Alternatives include: (i) meiofaunal activity; (ii) layered microbial (spongiostromate) accretion; (iii) sedimentary peloidal to clotted micrites; (iv) fluid escape and capture resulting in bird's eye to vuggy porosities; and (v) moulds of siliceous sponge spicules. Uncertainty of keratose sponge identification is fundamental and far‐reaching for understanding: (i) microfacies and diagenesis where they occur; (ii) fossil assemblages; and (iii) wider aspects of origins of animal clades, sponge ecology, evolution and the systemic recovery from mass extinctions. Thus, alternative explanations must be considered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Endobenthosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Endobenthosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Keratose sponges in ancient carbonates – A problem of interpretation

et al. 2022

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“…Segregation of large particles in the SML can be driven either directly by the BNE, or indirectly by biogenic graded bedding resulting from the selective transport of finer particles through ingestion 31 – 33 , burrow lining 34 , infills 35 , and resuspension 36 . While graded bedding has been observed in sediments dominated by single benthic organisms, it is not a typical feature of regularly deposited sediment 37 , 38 .…”

Section: Microtektite Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale Brazil nut effects in bioturbated sediment

Savranskaia

Egli

Valet

2022

Sci Rep

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Size segregation in granular materials is a universal phenomenon popularly known as the Brazil nut effect (BNE), from the tendency of larger nuts to end on the top of a shaken container. In nature, fast granular flows bear many similarities with well-studied mixing processes. Instead, much slower phenomena, such as the accumulation of ferromanganese nodules (FN) on the seafloor, have been attributed to the BNE but remain essentially unexplained. Here we document, for the first time, the BNE on sub-millimetre particles in pelagic sediment and propose a size segregation model for the surface mixed layer of bioturbated sediments. Our model explains the size distribution of FN seeds, pointing to a uniform segregation mechanism over sizes ranging from < 1 mm to > 1 cm, which does not depend on selective ingestion by feeding organisms. In addition to explaining FN nucleation, our model has important implications for microfossil dating and the mechanism underlying sedimentary records of the Earth’s magnetic field.

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“…Looking for subtle hints of bioturbation has been an enduring thread in studies of black shales and is an ongoing pursuit Wilson 2021, this Yellow arrows point to silt/pyritic streaks. c X-radiograph of black laminated interval marked with blue frame in a. Yellow arrows point to low-angle inclined dense linear features that are presumed to be pyritic Yellow arrows point to low-angle inclined dense linear features that are presumed to be pyritic.…”

Section: Prelude-enigmatic Bioturbation In the New Albany Shale Of Indianamentioning

confidence: 99%

The discovery of widespread agrichnia traces in Devonian black shales of North America: another chapter in the evolving understanding of a “not so anoxic” ancient sea

Wilson

Schieber

Stewart

2021

PalZ

Self Cite

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For earth scientists, to examine how life forms interact with their environment is of key importance to understand evolutionary linkages and adaptations within the biosphere. The Devonian Period experienced many changes of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, most notably the proliferation of vascular plants that accelerated terrestrial weathering and nutrient flux to the oceans and resulted in globally extensive deposition of organic-matter-rich mudstones. In geologic history, such strata appear to be linked to global rise of sea level, greenhouse climate with elevated atmospheric pCO 2 , active volcanism, and extinction events. A concerted effort in multiple fields is aimed at understanding the history of oxidation states, modes of organic-matter preservation, and how paleoredox conditions are influenced by local and global drivers (e.g., sea level, tectonics, volcanism). In this study, we document the discovery and unique preservational style of agrichnia (graphoglyptid) traces in Middle-Late Devonian organic-rich shales from three different basins across North America. On slabbed core surfaces the remains of these burrows appear as inconspicuous discontinuous, bedding parallel pyritic streaks, but X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans show bedding parallel pyritized polygonal structures that are interpreted as graphoglyptid burrows. Agrichnia are generally attributed to trace-makers capable of constructing interlaced branching structures to harvest microbial consortia in oxygen-stressed settings, and their discovery in black shales provides new perspectives for interpreting the benthic habitability of organic-rich depositional settings.

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Burrows without a trace—How meioturbation affects rock fabrics and leaves a record of meiobenthos activity in shales and mudstones

Cited by 15 publications

References 86 publications

Keratose sponges in ancient carbonates – A problem of interpretation

Keratose sponges in ancient carbonates – A problem of interpretation

Multiscale Brazil nut effects in bioturbated sediment

The discovery of widespread agrichnia traces in Devonian black shales of North America: another chapter in the evolving understanding of a “not so anoxic” ancient sea

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