Effects of Data Categorization on Paleocommunity Analysis: A Case Study From the Pennsylvanian Finis Shale of Texas

Forcino, Frank L.; Stafford, Emily S.; Warner, J. J.; Webb, Amelinda E.; Leighton, Lindsey R.; Schneider, Chris L.; Michlin, Tova S.; Palazzolo, Lauren M.; Morrow, Jared R.; Schellenberg, S. A.

doi:10.2110/palo.2009.p09-011r

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The magnitude of possible biases introduced by a chosen technique can be assessed by applying several different collecting methods to a small subset of a target-sampling domain, but such an approach is rarely used in paleoecological studies (but see e.g., Cerridwen and Jones, 1991). Rigorous comparison of different sampling methods will undoubtedly add important insights complementing recent studies addressing the effects of mesh-size (Kidwell, 2002;Kowalewski and Hoffmeister, 2003;Bush et al, 2007), data categorization (Pandolfi, 2001;Forcino et al, 2010), and analytical decisions (Zambito et al, 2008;Visaggi and Ivany, 2010) on recorded paleoecological patterns and will help in their correct interpretation.…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Decomposing Lithification Bias: Preservation of Local Diversity Structure in Recently Cemented Storm-Beach Carbonate Sands, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Nawrot¹

2012

PALAIOS

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Lithification with related diagenetic phenomena is an important step in a complex transition from living communities to fossil assemblages and a major taphonomic filter distorting the record of past biodiversity. Apart from direct diagenetic culling of fossils, cementation of fossiliferous deposits induces changes in sampling procedures used to extract paleontological data. This study explores the effects of this methodological shift on recorded fine-scale paleoecological patterns by using subfossil mollusk assemblages occurring in the unlithified and recently cemented storm-beach carbonate sands at Sand Dollar Beach, San Salvador Island, Bahamas, which experienced limited diagenetic alteration. Results show that consistent differences in relative abundance patterns of particular taxa can be observed between unlithified and lithified samples due to collection failure. Magnitude of this distortion is controlled in a large part by a degree of transport-related size sorting, with well-sorted assemblages dominated by small gastropods being more affected. This bias, however, is of limited importance and can be mitigated by selective exclusion of the smallest size classes (,5 mm) from the analysis. Moreover, unlithified and poorly lithified deposits record very similar rarefied richness estimates and patterns of diversity partitioning. This contrasts strongly with earlier estimates of lithification-related diversity loss, suggesting greater importance of diagenetic over methodological filters in creating lithification bias observed in the older rock record. Poorly lithified carbonate rocks-present in many late Neogene successions-may yield biodiversity data directly comparable to those recorded by unlithified sediments if careful collecting methods based on bulk samples are employed.

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Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Decomposing Lithification Bias: Preservation of Local Diversity Structure in Recently Cemented Storm-Beach Carbonate Sands, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Nawrot¹

2012

PALAIOS

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“…Several studies have demonstrated that palaeoecological analyses can be performed at species, genus, family or even higher levels and that results of the fine and coarse taxonomic resolutions are often strongly correlated (Forcino et al . , ; Geffard Greffard et al . ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation, diversity and environmental expansion of Early Ordovician ostracods: a view from the Southern Hemisphere

Salas

Waisfeld

Muñoz

2019

LET

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Tremadocian–Floian siliciclastic successions in the Argentine Cordillera Oriental are of great interest for the study of early ostracod radiation. Four genera and five species of ostracods have so far been documented in the basin from the Early–Late Tremadocian (Tr2). This contrasts with occurrences from other palaeocontinental areas, where typically only one species is described. Patterns of environmental distribution and ecological approaches of ostracod assemblages were analysed on the basis of richness, Fisher's alpha diversity, relative abundance and occupancy. Ecological patterns remained stable throughout the studied interval, mostly with one genus notably dominant over the others. At the regional scale, dominant taxa occur at a relatively large number of sites, which display high occupancy. The literature data on carbonate successions from the Baltoscandian basin show a similar pattern, with a single taxon dominant over the others in local assemblages and wide regional distribution of these dominants. This ecological pattern would therefore have persisted at least until the Dapingian, independently of the sedimentary regime. Ostracods were already present along the onshore–offshore gradient during the initial stages of radiation, showing a strong preference for deep subtidal settings during Tr2 and then spreading to shallower environments in Tr3 and to deeper ones in the Floian (Fl2–Fl3). A compilation of ostracod diversity data from several regions shows a remarkable increase during the Darriwilian. Based on the regions studied herein, this rise in diversity is decoupled from the environmental expansion of ostracods, as they were already recorded along the onshore–offshore profile early in their history on both siliciclastic and carbonate shelves. The Argentine Cordillera Oriental could be considered as a cradle of diversity, with an important role in the subsequent radiation of the group.

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“…; Bambach ; Forcino et al . , ; Allmon & Martin ). Biomass data can also be used as the basis of more complex models to estimate the net secondary production and trophic demands and structure of fossil assemblages (e.g.…”

Section: Common Measures Of Biomass With Abbreviations Of Variables mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…To alleviate these limitations, the biomass of fossils has also been estimated either by using the skeletal (usually carbonate) mass as a proxy for soft tissue‐based biomass (Waselkov ; Forcino et al . ) or by extrapolating the edible ‘meat mass’ from the skeletal mass in a shell midden (Lyman ). In these types of shell‐mass approaches, fossils must be preserved in their original mineralogy and porosity (shell density), a condition common in dead‐shell assemblages on modern seafloors and in many unlithified sediments.…”

Section: Common Measures Of Biomass With Abbreviations Of Variables mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating fossil biomass from skeletal mass in marine invertebrates

Meadows

2019

LET

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Palaeoecology uses the numerical abundance and the occurrence of species to evaluate the dynamics of past communities, but biomass – the quantity of soft tissue – is the critical currency needed to capture the flow and role of nutrients in modern ecosystems. Acquiring biomass data from fossil assemblages has, however, remained challenging, thus limiting the analysis of net secondary production in palaeocommunities. Prior models relate shell size or shell biovolume to fossil biomass. These models neglect shell fragments and, moreover, use units of biovolume (cm3) that are not directly related to those of biomass (g), making the models difficult to tune and the coefficients highly specific. To remedy these shortcomings, I evaluate skeletal mass as a means of estimating the soft tissue biomass of fossil taxa, using ratios among biomass, skeletal mass and the total wet mass of living representatives of extant species, so that skeletal mass alone can be used to estimate grams of organic biomass. Data on total wet mass, organic carbon mass, and shell mass were acquired from more than 80 live‐collected individuals from eight families in three major, shelly macrobenthic groups (Mollusca, Brachiopoda, Arthropoda) and supplemented with counterpart data from the literature to increase taxonomic breadth. This new shell‐mass model provides more accurate and precise biomass estimates than models based on the linear dimensions of shells, expanding our ability to examine the interplay between organisms and their environments.

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Effects of Data Categorization on Paleocommunity Analysis: A Case Study From the Pennsylvanian Finis Shale of Texas

Cited by 26 publications

References 48 publications

Decomposing Lithification Bias: Preservation of Local Diversity Structure in Recently Cemented Storm-Beach Carbonate Sands, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Decomposing Lithification Bias: Preservation of Local Diversity Structure in Recently Cemented Storm-Beach Carbonate Sands, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Radiation, diversity and environmental expansion of Early Ordovician ostracods: a view from the Southern Hemisphere

Estimating fossil biomass from skeletal mass in marine invertebrates

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