Palaeoecology of marine Pleistocene Mollusca, Nova Scotia

Abstract

Fossiliferous Pleistocene sediments are present in western mainland Nova Scotia and on Cape Breton Island. Two ages of deposits are represented: post-glacial in the Minas Basin area and mid-Wisconsinan in the Yarmouth–Digby area and Cape Breton. The mid-Wisconsinan age is based on both radiocarbon and U–Th dates. Molluscan assemblages indicate water temperatures colder than at present at the time of deposition of the post-glacial sediments, and comparable to the present for the older deposits. Assemblages from the Yarmouth–Digby area are compared with those of similar age from Tobaccolot Bay, Long Island, New York, and from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Foraminifera, previously unreported, were found in sediments of both ages.

A Reconnaissance Survey on the Quaternary History of St. Pierre et Miquelon, France

“…They are also similar to a suite at Salmon R i v e r , Nova Scotia, dated at 38,600 B.P. (Nielsen 1974, Wagner 1977 and, hence, are thought to be an indicator of mid-Wisconsinan marine overlap.…”

Palynologie et paléoenvironnements du Wisconsinien de la région de la baie Saint-Laurent, Île du Cap Breton

“…Les sédiments originels représentent donc, en partie, un épisode plus chaud que l'Actuel, sans doute interglaciaire. C'est par ailleurs ce qu'illustrent les assemblages de coquilles (WAGNER, 1977) dont le recouvrement des aires spécifiques indique une zone comprise entre 43° et 45° de latitude nord. En excluant ainsi en grande partie les thermophiles, les assemblages sporo-polliniques reflètent davantage un milieu septentrional.…”

Premature refutation of a human-mediated marine species introduction: the case history of the marine snail Littorina littorea in the northwestern Atlantic

“…A single L. littorea shell from southwestern Nova Scotia was indirectly dated between 33,000 and 44,000 before present (BP) from its presumed in situ presence in mid-Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) deposits (Wagner 1977). The in situ nature was based on its ''state of preservation'' and not by any other method.…”

“…This shell was found also with the edible B. undatum and M. mercenaria, which are not commonly associated with L. littorea. Wagner's (1977) shell is the only specimen from North America not directly associated with humans. No other eastern North American fossils of L. littorea have been reported despite exhaustive exploration of the marine fossil molluscan fauna.…”

“…These *19 L. littorea, and the proposed preglacial date of Wagner's (1977) shell in particular, all predating European contact, have weighed heavily in the debate over the native or human-mediated origin of L. littorea in North America. The near absence of subfossil or fossil L. littorea on raised beaches in North America, even adjacent to abundant living populations, is a striking contrast to its abundance in fossil and archeological sites of western and northern Europe (Reid 1996).…”