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Paleontology and Paleoecology

Paleontology and Paleoecology. Historical Perspectives on Fossils & Principles of Paleoecology. Historical Perspectives on Fossils. “Shaped Stones” Lightning scars, supernatural temptations, divine jokes and mysterious vapors Washed in during biblical flood Crawled into rock and died

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Paleontology and Paleoecology

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  1. Paleontology and Paleoecology Historical Perspectives on Fossils & Principles of Paleoecology

  2. Historical Perspectives on Fossils • “Shaped Stones” • Lightning scars, supernatural temptations, divine jokes and mysterious vapors • Washed in during biblical flood • Crawled into rock and died • Fossil – “something dug up” (Latin)

  3. Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519) Leonardo sketched fossils and recognized them as the remains of ancient life.

  4. Niels Stenson(a.k.a. Nicholas Steno)(1638-1686) • Observations on sediments: • Superposition • Original horizontality • Original lateral continuity • “tongue stones”

  5. Niels Stenson(a.k.a. Nicholas Steno)(1638-1686) • “Tongue stones” looked like teeth because they were teeth! • Fossils are remains of once living creatures (revival of DaVinci’s interpretation).

  6. Robert Hooke (1703) • These remains have a fixed “life span” and therefore can be used like “Roman coins” in determining age relationships • First statement of fossil succession • Concept revisited by William Smith in early 1800’s • Smith used fossils to correlate and make the first geologic map

  7. Fossils • Remains or traces of ancient life • Bones, Teeth, Shells, Tracks, Trails • Soft tissues – rare

  8. Utility of Fossils • History of Life on Earth • Evolution – appearances of new species • Extinction – disappearances of species • Framework for other events in Earth’s History • Guide in exploring for fossil fuels • Important clues to ancient environmental conditions

  9. Principles of Paleoecology • Organisms adapt to their environments • Fossils provide clues to organism lifestyle • Analogy to living relatives • Functional Morphology • Association with other fossils – similar preferences • Type of substrate

  10. Environmental Factors that Influence Distribution of Organisms • Salinity • Oxygenation • Temperature • Light • Nutrients: • Type • Abundance • Distribution • Agitation/Currents • Clarity/Cloudiness of Water • Substrate – preferences • Grain Size – firm/soft • Composition • Mobility/stability

  11. Preferences/Lifestyles of Organisms Tell Us About Environmental Conditions • Sessile organisms rely on currents to bring food • Motile organisms can search for food in water or in/on sediment • Distribution of food related to agitation/currents • Therefore, related to oxygenation also

  12. Ways to Feed • Producer – Plants • Primary Consumer – Herbivore • Secondary Consumer – Carnivore • Passive/semi-active • Filter feeding • Active Feeding • Swimming, crawling, scavenging, preying

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