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Kemp, Richard Angus. "Solnhofen tetrapod taphonomy." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297713.
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Underwood, Charlie J. "The taphonomy of graptolites." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.357730.
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Duncan, Ian. "The taphonomy of insects." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/b9255bb1-f863-469c-9511-7909e79353af.
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Davis, Paul G. "The taphonomy of birds." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/66bf971f-5ef0-44ec-83e5-92c7887f7471.
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Palaeo-ornithology has been dominated by taxonomy. To try and redress the balance and help palaeoecologists interpret fossil birds in a biological and ecological perspective, the taphonomy of birds needs to be fully understood. The taphonomy of birds is concerned with all processes from death to the collection of the fossil bird. Between these two points (the transfer of the organism from the biosphere to the lithosphere) a variety of forces and processes affect the bird/fossil. By means of experiments in the natural environment and in controlled conditions in the laboratory, and subsequent comparisons of the results with case studies of fossil assemblages, the processes leading to preservation can be deduced and the former living community restored on the basis of the fossil evidence. The research involved two main approaches: 1. experimental taphonomy / observational taphonomy; and 2. case histories of fossil communities and their interpretation. Experimental work was carried out in the natural environment. Two field sites were chosen in southern Florida, a freshwater environment and a marine environment. The monitoring and controlling of these experiments required knowledge and techniques in zoology, botany, ecology, sedimentology, limnology, marine biology, microbiology, pathology and forensic science. Results obtained included the effects of scavenging, anoxia, transport, rate of burial, and temperature on rates of decay, the causes of bird mortality, the processes resulting in disarticulation, and the effects of decay upon feathers. Once the experimentaVobservational data had been collected they allowed a series of taphonomic thresholds (a decay sequence) to be defined. These data were then applied to case studies of fossil bird assemblages from different sedimentological environments. The following LagersHitten were investigated: Messel (Eocene, Germany) = restricted lacustrine; Green River (Eocene, USA) = lacustrine; Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone (Jurassic, Germany) = restricted marine; La Meseta Formation (Eocene, Antarctica) = marine; Rancho La Brea (Pleistocene, USA) = terrestrial "trap". The biases in each environment were assessed (e.g. birds in an aquatic ten-estrial environment had a higher preservation potential than birds from a tenestrial environment). The fossil record of birds is not as depauperate as previously thought but is heavily biased, depending on the proximity of the bird's habitat to that of the preserving sedimentary environment. Marine and littoral birds are poorly represented even though they inhabit sedimentary environments with a high preservation potential. This reflects low densities of birds per unit area. Aquatic birds (and terrestrial birds that inhabit the ecotone surrounding freshwater together with some larger fOlIDS from further away) are much better represented. This is because they inhabit the only terrestrial environments with a high preservation potential, coupled with the high densities of individuals per unit area. The bias towards large terrestrial birds is due to their large bones being more resistant to transport induced damage. These results have implications for the understanding of the evolution of birds. Patterns of evolution in birds can not be fully resolved on fossil evidence alone; biases in the taphonomy of birds only permit a small proportion of species from certain environments to be preserved. The taphonomy of feathers was investigated and it was discovered that the "organic trace" that commonly represents the outline of the feather trace is the diagenetically altered glycocalyx of the bacteria that were degrading the feather. In several localities these feather-degrading bactelia are preserved in authigenic minerals. The taphonomy of bats and pterosaurs was also investigated. The similarity of anatomical structures of birds, bats and pterosaurs results in similar taphonomic pathways.
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McCobb, Lucy M. E. "Fossilisation processes in terrestrial environments and their impact on archaeological deposits." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/6a66e33b-ec24-497e-b4f4-5698f9a71918.
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Astley, Amelia. "The taphonomy of historic shipwreck sites." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2016. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/402317/.
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An understanding of the extent to which materials and energy are free to exchange across boundaries at shipwreck sites is fundamental to the archaeological interpretation of these unique resources. The limited previous work on the dynamics of shipwreck sites suggest that they can act as either near-closed systems (e.g. Mary Rose), or open systems at some state of dynamic/quasi- equilibrium with respect to their surroundings’ (e.g. Stirling Castle). Nonetheless, our understanding of the temporal evolution of shipwreck sites and thus, whether they are open or closed systems, is extremely limited. This thesis presents repeat (intra-annual; annual; and decadal) Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) surveys for five shipwreck sites (the largest published collection of shipwreck site MBES time-series to date) from a range of environments: the Richard Montgomery, tidally dominated (weakly asymmetrical); the Scylla, storm dominated; the Burgzand Noord site, tidally dominated (strongly asymmetrical); the Stirling Castle, dominated by large-scale geomorphological processes; and the Algerian, sheltered. By quantifying the temporal variability (through bed-level change plots) and the Metocean, geological and geomorphological conditions of these wreck sites, the impact of the differing marine environments on the wreck site’s taphonomic pathway was constrained. Through the collation of these MBES time-series the importance of being able to account for the uncertainty of the data when comparing two time steps was realised. To this end, a robust methodology for assessing the uncertainty of the MBES data was developed for the use with marine MBES data. The spatial patterns of scouring and deposition were accounted for through the application of the simple principles of scouring around bluff obstacles (cylinders, cuboids and piers etc.). Those sites which experienced a disturbance during the observation period (e.g. a storm event at the Scylla, sandbank migration at the Stirling Castle and the implementation of physical protection at the Burgzand Noord site) underwent a larger range of bed-level change and altered dramatically in their scour/deposition arrangement. Those sites at quasi-equilibrium (SS Richard Montgomery, Algerian and Scylla for the final time-step) underwent no perceivable net bed-level change over the observation period and had stable scour and deposition features. The comprehension of shipwreck site taphonomy gained through this thesis is fundamental to the efficacy of heritage management, allowing protective measures to be site-tailored and fills a large data- and knowledge-gap in the long term (multi-annual) evolution of scour around marine anthropogenic structures.
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Fiacconi, M. "Cave pollen taphonomy in Kurdish Iraq." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2017. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6712/.
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This thesis aims to understand the mechanisms involved in pollen transport and deposition in cave environments and the influence of different factors on the composition of the pollen assemblage, with special reference to the problem of the Neanderthal ‘Flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave, Kurdish Iraq. Limited systematic taphonomic work has been done in cave environments, with most of the studies on an ad hoc basis. However, the number of interconnected factors acting on pollen transport, deposition and accumulation in this kind of environments implies that models used for open-air sites are inadequate and demonstrates the need for further taphonomic studies. Surface samples from six caves located in the Zagros Mountains of Kurdish Iraq were collected along front-back transects and outside for comparison in order to evaluate the distribution of anemophilous and entomophilous taxa in relation to the sample location. Additional surface samples were collected from Shanidar Cave along a side to side and perimeter transects to better evaluate the pollen distribution. Water, airfall and animal dung samples were also collected to investigate the influence of those factors in pollen transport. Finally, stratigraphic samples collected during the excavation at the site were analysed for pollen and for particle size distribution. Results show that simple sac-like caves with little or no influence of factors such as water, humans and animals are characterised by broadly predictable patterns of pollen distribution with a positive correlation between anemophilous pollen and vicinity to the cave entrance and entomophilous pollen and distance from the cave entrance. Caves with active biotic vectors and/or more complex geomorphology show instead more irregular patterns. Cave SLS203 presents an inverse anemophilous/entomophilous distribution that is likely to be related to its geomorphological complexity (a second entrance at the back of the cave influencing the air circulation) and to the presence of animals. Shanidar Cave presents a very irregular distribution which is likely to reflect a combination of factors such as the mixing of surface sediments caused by the tourists visiting the site, the pollen transported by animals and that moved by the wind. Other factors, such as water input and cave entrance flora, seem not to play an important role in ii Kurdish Iraq, while they appear to strongly influence pollen distribution in caves elsewhere (e.g. Coles, 1988; Simpson, 2006). The stratigraphic samples were sterile or contained few pollen grains, probably because the aeolian nature of the sediments, deposited during stadials, with low pollen deposition and high sediment influx. Finally, clumps of pollen of both anemophilous and entomophilous taxa have been found for different taxa in all the caves. Leroi-Gourhan (1975) had suggested that similar clumps found in the vicinity of Shanidar IV remains were evidence for burial with flowers but their presence on the surface demonstrates that they can occur naturally and that other explanations should be considered. Moreover, the high amount of Lactuceae and the presence of older pollen grains in her samples suggest a strong taphonomic imprint not necessarily resulting from anthropogenic activity.
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Marshall, Peter David. "The environmental impact of mining and metalworking activities in Steiermark, Austria." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.325270.
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Freedman, Kim. "Aspects of the taphonomy of jawless vertebrates." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/30433.
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Consideration of taphonomy enhances our understanding of jawless vertebrate history. The hagfish Myxine glutinosa was decayed in a variety of conditions. In all cases, anatomical structures generally regarded as highly decay-resistant degraded before others presumed less so. Even observed decay-resistance, moreover, may not be a reliable criterion for the identification of fossil features. When M. glutinosa carcasses experience taphonomic events that promote exceptional preservation, however, their appearance provides links between features of fossils and anatomical parts of the living animal. W-shaped muscle blocks, for example, can become irregular, Z-, or V-shaped during decay, an observation relevant to interpretations of conodonts with Pikaia gracilens. On the basis of the response of M. glutinosa to conditions of exceptional preservation, hagfish fossilization is predicted to be rare and biased towards young individuals; this prediction conforms to their observed fossil record. The taphonomy of M. glutinosa carcasses depends heavily upon anatomical factors particular to hagfishes, so these results cannot be readily extended to explain bias in the histories of other vertebrates. An approach emphasizing taphonomy and incorporating three-dimensional modelling allow features of the problematic fossil taxon Jamoytius kerwoodi to be identified more rigorously. Jamoytius is redescribed as a jawless vertebrate with W-shaped phosphatic scales, ten or more pairs of branchial openings, optic capsules, a subterminal mouth, a terminal nasohypophysial opening, and paired ventrolateral appendages. Cladistic analyses, with the characters of Jamoytius coded as proposed in this study, place it as a sister-taxon to the anaspids. The orientations at which the feeding apparatuses of the conodont Promissum pulchrum collapsed relative to the sea floor were determined by comparing specimens to a three-dimensional model of the apparatus. Measurements of these collapse orientations provide no evidence that the Soom Shale had a soupy substrate when Promissum was deposited.
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Lieverse, Angela Rose. "Human taphonomy at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV, Siberia." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ46985.pdf.
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Holmes, Phillip Lee. "An experimental approach to spore/pollen taphonomy." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.734436.
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Allison, P. A. "The taphonomy of soft-bodied fossil biotas." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/0ae5c2b2-cfb9-473b-beef-7b5034401d4f.
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Wani, Ryoji. "Ectocochleate cephalopod taphonomy = Gaikakusei tōsokurui no tafonomī /." Electronic version of summary, 2002. http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/gakui/gaiyo/3335.pdf.
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Rogers, Christopher. "Dating death : forensic taphonomy and the postmortem interval." Thesis, University of Wolverhampton, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2436/210852.
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Determining the postmortem interval (PMI) remains one of the most important but challenging factors to establish in a suspicious death investigation. Unfortunately, as time passes current methods lose accuracy and only allow investigators to approximate how long ago death occurred. Bodies interred in clandestine graves prove particularly challenging due to an abundance of variables that need to be taken into consideration. Due to the problems associated with determining the PMI of buried remains this study will utilise macroscopic, microscopic, molecular, chemical and microbiological analyses to systematically document the decompositional changes to human hair and porcine cartilage and bone in a burial environment. The aim was to correlate decompositional changes with time and develop new methods for estimating the PMI of remains found in this context. Whole trotters (from which the cartilage was harvested) exhibited decompositional changes including darkening of the dermis, skin slippage, liquefaction of soft tissues and complete skeletonisation. The decompositional changes to cartilage included a loss of cartilage covering articular facets, changes in colour and texture, formation of orthorhombic crystals, a change in surface pH and colonisation by bacteria. The bacteria found on the cartilage surface were in close proximity to the crystals and when cultured on a B-41 medium were found to precipitate crystals of the same morphology and chemical composition to those found on the cartilage surface. Three species of bacteria (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Acinetobacter iwoffii and Grimontia hollisae) were identified based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of their fatty acids and one species (Comamonas sp.) was identified by DNA analysis. Formation of crystals on goat and cow cartilage proved that this was not a porcine specific phenomenon. Human hair exhibited a gradual degradation over time but this was dependent on the characteristics of the burial environment. Decompositional changes included colonisation by fungi, erosions to the cortical surface and formation of tunnels and breaks to the hair shaft. Two fungal species (Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium sp.) were identified based on DNA analysis of fungal ribosomal (rDNA) internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The Penicillium sp. was linked with fungal tunnelling of hair. Bone exhibited little modification over time but changes were observed. These included a change in colour of the cortical surface, a change in colour and gradual loss of bone marrow and erosions, cracking and flaking of the cortical bone. Fungi were found to colonise both the bone marrow and bone surface. Whole piglets were buried to document the time period taken to reach skeletonisation. This data was used as a correction factor and combined with the bone results to give an overall time period for the decomposition changes observed. The results of this study suggest that the decompositional changes to cartilage could be used to determine the postmortem interval of buried remains. However, the degradation of hair and bone was too variable to be of use in this context.
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Sexton, Philip. "Foraminiferal taphonomy, palaeoecology and palaeoceanography of the Eocene." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.416473.
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Wright, Joanna L. "Fossil terrestrial trackways : function, taphonomy and palaeoecological significance." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.389379.
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Henwood, Alison Ayodele. "Insect taphonomy from Tertiary amber of the Dominican Republic." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/251539.
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Newell, Andrew John. "Sedimentological controls on vertebrate taphonomy in Triassic fluvial environments." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.317467.
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Cook, Elizabeth. "Sedimentology and taphonomy of Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) bone accumulations." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/0cc7847c-1cd7-476f-a498-94fc76ad7847.
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Anderson, Evan Pelzner. "Chuaria, Vendotaenia, and the taphonomy of the Carbonaceous Compression." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/72988.
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Carbonaceous Compressions are a widespread preservational style for fossils, yet their taphonomy remains poorly understood. Previous studies focusing on the taphonomy of carbonaceous compressions have primarily looked at exceptionally preserved faunas in plane view. The precious nature of these fossils leaves destructive techniques of analysis out of the question, but these techniques are necessary if the taphonomy of carbonaceous compressions is to be deciphered. This study analyzes Neoproterozoic carbonaceous compressions from the Yangtze Gorges area in order to address this issue. Chuaria fossils from the Jiulongwan, Sixi, and Sifangtan sections of the Doushantuo Formation and Vendotaenia fossils from the Wuhe and Miaohe sections of the Denying Formation are microchemically analyzed in both plane view and cross section in order to gain a greater understanding of the makeup of carbonaceous compressions. Results confirm and elaborate on previous studies. Likely clay coats are detected on some Chuaria specimens, while they are absent on less thermally mature specimens. Evidence for sulfate reduction in association with carbonaceous compressions is found. Sulfur enrichment, rather than clay coats, is found in association with Vendotaenia fossils. These observations lead to the hypothesis that while organic remains require a very precise set of taphonomic conditions in order to be preserved as carbonaceous compressions, there may be more than one set of conditions that allow for preservation. More studies of a greater taxonomic and taphonomic range of carbonaceous compressions are needed, however, if the mechanisms which control this preservational pathway are to be fully understood.Master of Science
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Milam, Mason Jane. "A crinoid Lagerstatte from Maysville, Kentucky: paleoautecology and taphonomy." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1393237149.
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Kowalewski, Michal Jan. "Quantitative taphonomy, ecology, and paleoecology of shelly invertebrates from the intertidal environments of the Colorado River Delta, Northeastern Baja California, México." Diss., [S.l.] : University of Arizona, 1995. http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file:///data1/pdf/etd/azu_e9791_1995_205_sip1_w.pdf&type=application/pdf.
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Bonde, Joshua William. "Paleoecology and taphonomy of the Willow Tank Formation (Albian), Southern Nevada." Thesis, Montana State University, 2008. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2008/bonde/BondeJ1208.pdf.
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This study documents fossil remains from the Willow Tank Formation and places those remains into a taphonomic and sedimentological context in order to determine the paleoecology of southern Nevada during the Early Cretaceous (Albian). Recovered taxa include Lepisosteidae, Ceratodus, Holostean A, Naomichelys, Baenidae, c.f. Adocus, possible Trionychidae, Crocodyliformes, Thyreophora, Iguanodontia, Titanosauriformes, Tyrannosauroidea, Dromaeosauridae, indet. Theropoda, and two fern morphotypes. Sedimentology of the fossiliferous unit of the Willow Tank Formation suggests these taxa were deposited in an anastomosed fluvial system. Interpretation of an anastomosed fluvial system is based in part upon an overwhelming abundance of overbank fines, single storied channel fills, lack of lateral accretion structures, and common crevasse splay sandstones. Observed paleosols commonly contain carbonate nodules associated with mottled red-green mudrocks. The carbonate nodules are consistent with as seasonally arid environment and reddening of beds may suggest a well drained floodplain. Taphonomic modes include microsite, subaqueous bonebed, subaerial bonebed, and channel fill assemblages. Vertebrate fossils are found predominantly in overbank settings. The fauna of the Willow Tank Formation most resembles that of the Cedar Mountain Formation. Unlike the discrete, temporal, fauna assemblages of the various members of the Cedar Mountain Formation, the Willow Tank Formation fauna contains a mix of these different stratigraphic faunas. One example is the co-occurrence of Early Cretaceous iguanodon-grade and Late Cretaceous hadrosaur-grade teeth. Another example being the presence of a tyrannosauroid tooth in Albian beds of the Willow Tank Formation, where tyrannosauroids are not found in the Cedar Mountain Formation until the Cenomanian. Therefore, Willow Tank Formation strata may shed light on biogeographic and evolutionary relationships at the Early-Late Cretaceous boundary.
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Sumner, Daphne. "Palaeobiology, taphonomy and diagenesis of a lower carboniferous fish fauna." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3723.
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Chapters one and two of this work contain a study of helically-coiled spiral coprolites. Spiral coprolites with complex microstructures have been interpreted as enterospirae – fossilized valvular intestines (Fritsch 1907, Williams 1972). However other evidence seems to indicate that recent dogfish produce spiral faecal pellets with complex microstructures (McAllister 1985). The search for an answer to the problem of whether certain spiral coprolites are fossilized intestines or faecal pellets includes a study of diet and the physiology of digestion in fishes, with particular attention to those with valvular intestines; the sharks, skates and rays. The faunal associations of various coprolite assemblages and the fossil evidence for the presence of the valvular intestine in fishes and other groups are also reviewed. Chapter one includes a revision of the definitions, terminology and taxonomy of coprolites. In the second chapter the various forms of spiral coprolites in the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland are examined. Actualistic research into taphonomic processes in fishes is divided into two areas described in chapters three and five. Chapter three covers various aspects of the physical processes which affect fish carcasses, with particular emphasis on small sharks. A major aspect of this work is concerned with the post mortem build-up of gas in the body cavity and its taphonomic consequences. Chemical aspects of decay and mineralization form the basis of chapter five. The roles of changes in pH and the levels of calcium magnesium and phosphates in early mineralization are investigated. An investigation of the taphonomy and diagenesis of the Wardle Shales fish beds is contained in chapter four. The Lower Carboniferous Wardie Shales fish fauna consists of palaeoniscoids, sharks and acanthodians preserved in siderite concretions. The preservation of uncrushed calcified cartilage is particularly striking. Well-preserved spiral coprolites are exceedingly common. Wide-ranging conclusions help to clarify the processes that have led to the preservation of the remarkable assemblages of coprolites at Anstruther and Wardie and of the Wardie fishes.
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Saitta, Evan. "The taphonomy of soft tissues and the evolution of feathers." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/4d80b879-abf1-41a5-8520-1c118e7d1a48.
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Understanding how fossils form is imperative if one wishes to interpret them. For palaeontology to contribute to biology regarding the behaviour, physiology, ecology, and evolution of extinct organisms, interdisciplinary approaches must account for physical and chemical changes of organismal remains through geologic processes. One example of this interdisciplinary requirement is with regard to feather evolution. Feathers serve many key functions (e.g., thermoregulation, signalling, camouflage, water repellence, flight) and are a key adaptation with respect to the diversity and longevity of the avian clade and some non-avian dinosaurs. Feathers are also complex integumentary structures consisting of organic and inorganic components (e.g., keratin protein, pigments, and calcium phosphate) and, although not preserved as often as skeletal material, are represented by a relatively large sample of exceptionally preserved fossils. This thesis attempts to understand the taphonomy of keratinous structures and soft tissues more generally, which can help us to better interpret fossils, especially when modern analogues are lacking. Following an introduction to molecular taphonomy, a background behind the analytical methods used, and a primer on the application of molecular taphonomy to the study of feather evolution, part one of this thesis, containing chapters one and two, examines fossil feather preservation. In chapter one, a Late Cretaceous Shuvuuia deserti dinosaur feather fibre, once thought to consist of keratin protein based on antibody staining, is reanalysed using microscopic, elemental, and molecular analyses and found to be inorganic, inconsistent with protein, and largely calcium phosphate. The fact that Shuvuuia feathers are preserved as simple phosphatic fibres potentially indicates that the feathers of this taxon were more complex in life than originally thought, with a calcified rachis whose inorganic molecules are the sole tissue component preserved and barbs whose organics were lost. The analyses revealed that cyanoacrylate glue coated the fibre, deriving from the fossil's preparation. Cyanoacrylates are known to adsorb antibodies, offering a mechanism to explain the earlier antibody stains for keratin protein as false positives. Applying immunohistochemistry to fossils is therefore ill-advised given risks of false positives. Furthermore, the direct chemical analyses of this fossil indicate that protein is lost while other components can survive. In chapter two, the more heavily-studied mode of integumentary structure preservation is examined using photographs of carbonaceously-preserved feathers from China. Previous work has concluded that such organic fossils of keratinous structures consist solely of stable, yet diagenetically-altered, melanin pigment and melanosomes. Here, decay processes that separated individual feathers from the rest of the plumage reveal that some paravians had primitive, extinct contour feather morphologies. Other primitive traits of dinosaur feathers are examined with a discussion of how these extinct morphologies might have altered feather function. In addition, this chapter highlights the importance of taphonomy when interpreting fossils that lack appropriate modern analogues (e.g., evo-devo models do not predict some fossil feather morphologies). While keratinous structures can be hypothesised to show differential stability of their underlying components through phosphatic or pigment-based preservation using direct observations of fossils, the loss of keratin protein can also be experimentally investigated. Part two of this thesis, containing chapters three through five, focuses on diagenesis. In chapter three, differential survival between tissues or the components of a tissue is examined through the development of a novel experimental procedure. Thermal maturation has been used for decades to simulate molecular stability through diagenesis, but the breakdown products observed are not always present in fossils. To account for molecular mobility and stability, specimens are compacted into sediment prior to maturation, allowing pore spaces to act as a filter whereby stable organics remain in situ while unstable organic breakdown products can escape through the sediment. In this chapter, experiments on feathers and lizards produce macrostructures and ultrastructures resembling those of exceptionally-preserved fossils, showing simultaneous loss of proteins and labile lipids while melanosomes remain. Sediment-encased maturation may assist in addressing a wide variety of taphonomic hypotheses and emphasises the importance of diagenetic stability on the preservation potential of organismal remains. One question that arises is whether the pattern of preferential loss of proteins and labile lipids presented here represents an accurate understanding, given that claims of dinosaur bone proteins, cells, and vessels abound in the literature. In chapter four, this thesis looks beyond keratin and critically examines the organics within dinosaur fossil bone. Chemical and biological analyses of Late Cretaceous dinosaur bone, an open system, collected in a manner to minimize contamination suggest that no endogenous protein or cellular structures survive although some kerogen from endogenous lipids might be present. Instead, the bone provides a habitat for a unique and thriving subterranean microbiome, complicating claims of original bone organics and demonstrating how even recent biological processes must be considered when studying taphonomy. It is important to determine what chemical signature protein would yield after tens-of-millions-of-years without complications due to the loss of original organics or introduction of exogenous contamination. To address this, closed systems must be examined. In chapter five, chemical analyses of Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur eggshell calcite, a closed system, reveal endogenous amino acids consistent with complete peptide sequence loss (i.e., only the four most thermally-stable amino acids were detected and all are fully racemised, while no non-contaminant peptide sequences could be detected). These results represent well-supported protein-derived material from non-avian dinosaurs. More importantly, the complete hydrolysis of closed-system proteins suggests that preservation of Mesozoic peptide sequences is unlikely. Fossils are the only available data on extinct organisms for which there are no appropriate modern analogues, and correct interpretation of this data must consider taphonomy. This thesis concludes with a summary of the current state of knowledge on keratinous structure fossilisation, a judgement on the validity of previous dinosaur 'soft tissue' claims, and suggestions for future molecular taphonomy research. When analysing fossil keratinous structures, pigments and calcium phosphate are likely the only surviving components in specimens of appreciable age or thermal maturation. However, despite the limited preservation potential of proteins, their thermally-stable amino acids, in addition to stable biominerals, pigments, and certain lipids, will likely offer great potential for molecular taphonomists to study life in the deep past. Stable biominerals have always provided the vast majority of palaeontological data, while fossil pigments and lipids can provide unique palaeobiological insight such as colour patterning and, possibly in the future, sex determinations of fossil specimens, respectively. Although biomolecules prone to extreme diagenetic degradation lose information, even greatly-altered fossil biomolecules, such as closed-system eggshell amino acids, may at the very least provide material for new stable isotope approaches.
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Demko, Timothy Michael. "Taphonomy of fossil plants in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/187397.
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Fossil plants in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation are preserved in fluvial channel, overbank, and lacustrine deposits. Plant-bearing units in these deposits are classified into seven types based on these depositional environments or subenvironments. Taphonomic characteristics of these assemblages, and of individual plant fossils within them, indicate that most plant fossils have either not been transported far from their growth sites or are preserved in situ. One particular deposit in the central part of Petrified Forest National Park preserves fossil plants in three associations: (1) allochthonous logs in basal lags in a channel-fill/lateral accretion deposits; (2) autochthonous horsetail trunks and parautochthonous horsetail leaves in a crevasse-splay deposits; and (3) parautochthonous and autochthonous cycadaceous, fern and other types of leaves, and erect and prostrate trunks in a paludal/distal splay deposits. Exposures of contemporaneous high-sinuosity channel and overbank deposits in this area enabled the reconstruction of the local paleogeography, paleohydrology, and paleoecology at a high resolution. Fossil plant assemblages of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation are concentrated in the lower members of the formation. The lower part of the Chinle Formation was deposited in an incised valley system. Depositional, hydrological, and near-surface geochemical conditions in the incised valley system were conducive to preservation of terrestrial organic material, even though regional conditions were characterized by seasonal/monsoonal precipitation and groundwater conditions. Fossil plant assemblages preserved in these types of fully terrestrial incised valley-fills are taphonomically biased towards riparian wetland environments.
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Lebreton, Loïc. "Approche taphonomique multi-taxons des accumulations de petits vertébrés, implication pour les reconstitutions paléoenvironnementales au Pléistocène." Thesis, Perpignan, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018PERP0024/document.
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Les accumulations de petits vertébrés sur les sites archéologiques résultent d’une coprocénose ainsi que de phénomènes post-dépositionnels. La compréhension de l’ensemble des processus est nécessaire pour obtenir une interprétation viable de cette paléocommunauté. L’analyse taphonomique multi-taxons, en se basant sur les micromammifères, les lagomorphes et les oiseaux, permet d’obtenir une caractérisation fine du prédateur. Des référentiels taphonomiques ont été créés. Il s’agit d’une expérimentation sur l’impact du piétinement, d’un référentiel sur les modifications post-dépositionnelles en système karstique et d’un référentiel d’une accumulation de grand-duc. Ces référentiels ont permis une meilleure approche de certaines variables utilisées pour la caractérisation du prédateur, tels que l’isolement des dents, les traces d’altération superficielle et la représentation squelettique. Pour le site de Roc-en-Pail, la méthode multi-taxon a mis en évidence une surreprésentation de trois espèces. Les données paléoécologiques indiquent la présence d’un climat froid avec un paysage ouvert et avec des zones humides. Quant à la Caune de l’Arago, les analyses taphonomiques sur les UA P et R mettent en avant le rôle du grand-duc dans l’accumulation, ce qui induit un biais minime de représentativité. L’apport anthropique de petit gibier a été mis en évidence dans les UA G4, J et Q. D’un point de vue paléoécologique, ce site présente une succession de phases froides et de phases plus clémentes. L’interprétation de ces variations climatiques et leur corrélation aux SIM 12, 13 et 14 est complexe, deux hypothèses pour interpréter l’histoire du remplissage sont discutéesAccumulations of small vertebrates on archaeological sites result from coprocenose as well as from post-depositionnal phenomena. The comprehension of the whole process is necessary to get a viable interpretation of the corresponding paleocommunity. The multi-taxa taphonomic analysis, based on micromammals, lagomorphs and birds, allows to obtain a precise characterisation of the predator. Taphonomic referentials, were created, they consist of experimentation on the impact of trampling, of a referential on the post-depositionnal modifications in the karstic system as well as of a referential of a great eagle owl accumulation. These referentials allowed to get a better approach of some variables used for the characterisation of the predator, such as the teeth isolation, the superficial alteration marks and the skeleton representation. The application of the multi-taxa method to the fossil assemblages showed an over-representation of three species on the site of Roc-en-Pail. The paleoecological data point out the presence of a cold climate with an open landscape as well as damp zones. For the Caune de l’Arago, the taphonomic analyses on the AU P and R emphasize the role of the great eagle owl, which induces a minimum bias of representativeness. The anthropogenic contribution of small game has been pointed out in the AU G4, J and Q. This site shows a series of cold stages and milder stages. The interpretation of these climatic variations and their correlation to MIS 12, 13 and 14 is complex, two hypotheses are discussed to interpret the infilling
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Haglund, William D. "Applications of taphonomic models to forensic investigations /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6424.
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Skinner, Ethan S. "Taphonomy of exceptionally perserved fossils from the Kinzers Formation (Cambrian), southeastern Pennsylvania." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1090592371.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 167 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-143).
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Roberts, Lindsey G. "A TAPHONOMIC STUDY EXPLORING THE DIFFERENCES IN DECOMPOSITION RATE AND MANNER BETWEEN FROZEN AND NEVER FROZEN DOMESTIC PIGS (Sus scrofa)." OpenSIUC, 2013. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1181.
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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF LINDSEY G. ROBERTS, for the Master of Arts degree in Anthropology, presented May 10, 2013, at Southern Illinois University TITLE: A TAPHONOMIC STUDY EXPLORING THE DIFFERENCES IN DECOMPOSITION RATE AND MANNER BETWEEN FROZEN AND NEVER FROZEN DOMESTIC PIGS (Sus scrofa) MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. GRETCHEN R. DABBS This research examined differences in decomposition rate and manner of domestic pig subjects (Sus scrofa) in never frozen and previously frozen research conditions. Never frozen subjects and previously frozen subjects were paired and placed in an identical outdoor research environment at the Complex for Forensic Anthropology Research (CFAR) at Southern Illinois University. Extensive quantitative measurements were collected daily: abdominal circumference, total body score, and temperature. Qualitative observations were also taken daily: photographs of subjects, descriptive decomposition stages, and general visual observations concerning insect activity and subject appearance. Necropsies were performed at varying accumulated degree days between 50 and 300 (Celsius). Statistical comparison (paired samples t-tests) of accumulated degree days to three total body scores (TBS) (early decomposition TBS, 9.5 TBS, and advanced decomposition TBS) indicated the rate of decomposition of previously frozen subjects was significantly different than never frozen subjects at both early decomposition TBS and 9.5 TBS (p=0.003 & p=0.002, respectively). Internally, previously frozen subjects displayed less internal putrefaction, less internal color change, less organ distention, and a more dehydrated appearing heart. Externally, previously frozen subjects exhibited overall gray discoloration, increased desiccation, increased oviposition by insects, and nearly non-existent bloat. Internally, never frozen subjects displayed increased putrefaction, more internal color change, increased organ distention, and pleural bubbling around the lungs. Externally, never frozen subjects exhibited normal color change during decomposition, with purple and green discoloration being much more common in these subjects. Bloat was extensive in never frozen subjects. Due to these differences in rate and manner between never frozen and previously frozen subjects, previously frozen subjects should not be used in taphonomic research, as results may not accurately reflect the normal taphonomic condition. In cases of forensic significance, the possibility of freezing should be investigated if the victim displays external gray discoloration, significant external desiccation, decreased internal putrefaction, lack of bloat, and a dehydrated appearing heart.
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Campmas, Emilie. "Caractérisation de l’occupation des sites de la région de Témara (Maroc) au Pléistocène supérieur et nouvelles données sur la subsistance des hommes du Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique du Nord : exemples des approches taphonomiques et archéozoologiques menées sur les faunes d’El Harhoura 2 et d’El Mnasra." Thesis, Bordeaux 1, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012BOR14592/document.
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Caractérisation de l’occupation des sites de la région de Témara (Maroc) au Pléistocène supérieur et nouvelles données sur la subsistance des Hommes du Paléolithique moyen d’Afrique du Nord : exemples des approches taphonomiques et archéozoologiques menées sur les faunes d’El Harhoura 2 et d’El Mnasra » Ce travail en taphonomie et en archéozoologie se concentre sur les faunes pléistocènes de la région de Témara où deux sites fouillés récemment, El Harhoura 2 et El Mnasra, ont retenu notre attention. Il porte principalement sur l’Atérien (Paléolithique moyen/MSA), faciès culturel du Pléistocène supérieur propre à l’Afrique du Nord, dont l’aspect comportemental - en particulier les pratiques cynégétiques, la fonction des sites, l’organisation spatiale du territoire - est peu documenté. Le croisement des résultats obtenus sur les restes osseux de grands Mammifères avec les rares données régionales a permis de proposer un modèle hypothétique d’occupation des sites. Les occupations pérennes de courte durée au cours desquelles les Hommes ont effectué de multiples activités sont datées du stade 5. L’exemple d’El Mnasra montre que les Hommes ont consommé des Ongulés de toutes tailles (Gazelles, Suidés, Alcelaphinés, Équidés, grands Bovinés…) et que les différentes étapes de la chaîne opératoire du traitement des carcasses ont été effectuées in situ. Outre la grande faune, leur régime alimentaire était composé également de Tortues et de Mollusques marins. Comme l’indique l’exemple d’El Harhoura 2, aux stades isotopiques 4 et 3, en concomitance avec une dégradation climatique et une baisse du niveau marin, les occupants principaux des cavités étaient les Carnivores qui ont consommé principalement des Gazelles. Il semble que les Hommes n’ont effectué que de brefs passages dans les grottes. À l’Ibéromaurusien (Paléolithique supérieur final/LSA), le seul exemple d’El Harhoura 2 témoigne que, malgré le changement culturel observé au sein de l’industrie lithique et l’utilisation de la cavité à des fins sépulcrales, les accumulateurs majoritaires des faunes restent les Carnivores alors que les proportions d’Ongulés de tailles supérieures aux Gazelles augmentent. Comparés à plus large échelle, ces résultats mettent en exergue des similitudes dans les stratégies de subsistance qui s’ajoutent à d’autres convergences telles que l’utilisation de pigments, de Nassarius sp. … Au stade isotopique 5, le milieu littoral est exploité en association avec la consommation d’Ongulés d’assez grande taille et de Tortues aussi bien en Afrique du Nord qu’en Afrique du Sud par les Hommes Anatomiquement Modernes (HAM). La diversification des ressources n’est pas le seul fait des HAM, puisque les Néandertaliens de la péninsule ibérique et d’Italie ont également exploité le milieu littoral. Ainsi, cette période semble cruciale pour l’appréhension des dynamiques évolutives et comportementales des Hommes du MSA/HAM, non seulement en Afrique du Nord, mais également dans d’autres régionsThe Upper Pleistocene occupation of the Témara Region (Morocco) and new data concerning Middle Palaeolithic subsistence behaviour in North Africa: A taphonomic and zooarchaeological approach to the fauna from El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra”This work presents a taphonomic and zooarchaeological analysis focused on Pleistocene fauna from the Temara region of Morroco with particular emphasis on the recently excavated sites of El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra. Particular attention is paid to the Aterian (Middle Palaeolithic, MSA), a techno-complex specific to Upper Pleistocene North Africa and whose behavioural aspects remain poorly documented. This is especially the case for hunting practices, site function and the spatial organization of the territory. This work proposes an interpretative model based on large mammal faunas considered in conjunction with the little regional information that is currently available. The results suggest short occupations involving multiple activities during MIS 5. The example of El Mnasra indicates that Aterian groups consumed ungulates of various sizes (Gazelles, Equidae, Suidae, Bovinae, etc.) with the entire chaîne opératoire related to the butchery of carcasses carried out on-site. In addition to large game, these groups also integrated tortoise and shellfish in their diet. The example of El Harhoura 2 demonstrates carnivores who preyed mainly on gazelle to be the site’s main occupants during OIS 3-4, a period which can be correlated with more rigorous climatic conditions and lower sea levels. Aterian groups probably occupied the rockshelter only during brief stopovers. Despite culture changes evident in the lithic industry and the site being used as a burial ground during the ensuing Iberomaurusian period (Late Upper Palaeolithic/LSA), the accumulators of the fauna at El Harhoura 2 remain carnivores and the proportion of species larger than gazelle increases. On a larger scale, these results highlight similarities in subsistence strategies that can be added to other convergent behavioural features such as the use of pigments and the presence of Nassarius sp. beads. During OIS 5, anatomically modern humans (AMH) exploited coastal areas as well as fairly large ungulates and tortoise in both North and South Africa. However, this diversification of resources is not unique to AMH as Neanderthals are known to have exploited coastal environments in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. This period is therefore crucial for understanding Middle Palaeolithic/ MSA evolutionary dynamics and related behavioural traits not only in North Africa, but also in a broader geographical perspective
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Schmuker, Barbara. "Recent planktic foraminifera in the Caribbean sea : distribution, ecology and taphonomy /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2000. http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/show?type=diss&nr=13559.
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Somasundaram, Ramanathan, and Ramanathan Somasundaram. "Ostracode Taphonomy from Modern Shell Beds in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626607.
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Lake Tanganyika (LT), in the East African Rift, contains extensive shell beds that are noteworthy because the gastropods composing most of the LT shell beds are absent from the living in-situ assemblages of organisms hosted by the shell bed substrate. Understanding the geologic and biologic processes that formed these beds has the potential to improve our understanding of fossil shell beds in East Africa. The shell beds may also record recent lake-wide environmental change from climate or watershed impacts, which may be evident through community and taphonomic changes in the populations of shelly invertebrates and so the research seeks to examine whether shell bed substrates have experienced significant anthropogenic impacts that have altered the living assemblages. We investigated total abundance and taphonomic properties of ostracode fossils from shell beds at two sites in LT, one near the Luiche River Delta (a highly deforested site along the northern Tanzanian coast) and another near the Mahale Mountains National Park, an area of substantially lower human population density, 157 km to the south of the Luiche site. In laymen terms, ostracods are microscopic crustaceans that thrive in lacustrine environments and serve as very good indicators for past paleo-environmental and paleochemical reconstructions (Cohen, Nielsen 1986). We studied ostracode assemblage because of its sensitivity to chemical and physical changes in the environment. Ostracods indicate changes in shell beds. The analysis was done by sampling each site along 8 depth transects at the Luiche site and 7 transects at the Mahale site at water depths of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 meters. We analyzed total abundance, %valves vs. carapace, % adult vs. juvenile, % carbonate coated, reduction stained, oxidation stained, and %broken vs intact valves for ostracode shells. Results of LT show that there is a decrease in proportion of broken valves, slight decrease in carbonate staining, and an increase in reduction staining and proportion of whole carapaces with increasing water depth. Results of MT show that there is a decrease in broken valves and whole carapaces and an increase in adults, carbonate coated and reduction stained ostracodes with depth. The implications of this study towards paleo-limnology is that the pattern and post-mortem alterations record environmental conditions in shell bed area which can be used to further research in the study of ostracods and environmental changes.
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Brown, Racheal. "Palaeobotany and plant taphonomy of Visean volcanic sequences from northern Britain." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.508072.
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Boulton, Huw. "Taphonomy of non-biomineralised tissues in fossils from lacustrine Konservat-Lagerstätten." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.398539.
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Strang, Katie Margaret. "Aspects of the taphonomy of the Cambrian explosion in North Greenland." Thesis, Durham University, 2017. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12432/.
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This thesis describes and elucidates the taphonomic pathways responsible for the exceptional preservation of some of the most common elements of the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte (early Cambrian), North Greenland. Investigative techniques including cathodoluminescence, are tested first on silicified molluscs from the Oligocene of Antigua, associated with a volcanic source; described in chapter 2. By describing the depositional environment of the Sirius Passet biota in detail and using a combination of analytical techniques such as SEM, EDAX, SEM-CL and elemental mapping two published papers address a number of the key research questions surrounding the unique taphonomic pathways in the Sirius Passet biota and their broader significance in understanding Cambrian ecosystems. The papers are included in the form of chapters 3 and 4 and the published versions included in the appendices. A unique, mat-dominated, tissue specific taphonomic pathway is proposed, more akin to the Proterozoic than the typical Burgess Shale Type (BST) preservation seen elsewhere in the Cambrian. This together with mouldic preservation indicates a range of taphonomic styles concomitant with the range of new biotas at the dawn of the Cambrian Explosion.
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Fielding, Sarah Elizabeth. "The taxonomy, taphonomy and palaeoecology of Late Jurassic testudines from Europe." Thesis, University of Portsmouth, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.490240.
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Testudine remains are exceptionally scarce in the Middle Jurassic in Western Europe. However, in the Upper Jurassic testudines are represented by two pleurodiran families, the Notoemydidae and the Platychelidae, and cryptodires: the paracryptodiran Pleurosternidae (known only from fragmentary remains from the continent and a single taxon from the Portland Limestone Formation), and the eucryptodiran families Eurysternidae and the Plesiochelyidae. The sudden appearance of these families in marine deposits of the European Upper Jurassic suggests that they constitute one of the earliest marine radiations of testudines. The work described herein is the first study of European Late Jurassic testudines that combines multiple aspects of osteology, palaeopathologies, taphonomy and functional morphology. The most significant testudine remains in terms of these aspects are from the Kimmeridgian Reuchenette Formation, Switzerland, and the Tithonian Solnhofen Limestone Formation, Germany. The synonymy of Tholemys Andrews, 1921, with Plesiochelys Rütimeyer, 1873, is refuted. Thalassemys chelonia, previously a nomen nudum, is described and figured here for the first time. A new genus and species of eurysternid unique to the British Isles is described and figured. The first record of the range and extent of palaeopathologies in Late Jurassic testudines, and a new classification scheme is provided. An experimental method using a moderately controlled and monitored outdoor environment illustrates differences between natural disarticulation and predation or scavenger attack, preferential scavenging activity and the effects of resistant integuments within a carcass. Upper Jurassic testudines are preserved in a variety of styles, reflecting different taphonomic pathways. The Kimmeridge Clay represents an attritional accumulation of testudines, whilst the accumulation of the Solnhofen Limestone Formation is a combination of attritional and catastrophic. The process which resulted in the accumulation of the Reuchenette Formation remains enigmatic. For the first time, the relationship between the length of the mantis relative to the length of the arm has been applied to Late Jurassic testudines as a method of determining habitat preference. No Late Jurassic testudines included in the analysis had forelimbs with ratios equivalent to fully terrestrial or fully marine turtles, but most appear to have been moderately adapted for the neritic (shallow to coastal marine) environment, with increased mobility and terrestrial ability when compared to extant marine turtles. These factors would probably be a selective advantage in a coastal island environment, where widespread migrations were not required, but large marine predators (e. g. Machimosaurus) were present.
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Doitteau, Gaelle. "De l'organisation du vivant aux assemblages fossiles : comparaison des communautés de bivalves modernes et anciennes." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012AIXM4747/document.
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La thèse s'intéresse à l'enregistrement des propriétés de la biodiversité dans les archives sédimentaires. Elle s'appuie sur l'analyse d'une faune contemporaine de milieu tropical, collectée dans le Lagon de Touho, Nouvelle-Calédonie lors de l'expédition Montrouzier en 1993. Les différences de diversité entre les assemblages de bivalves vivants et de coquilles mortes d'un même site sont quantifiées à l'aide de plusieurs descripteurs (richesse taxonomique, indice PIE d'eveness, courbes de raréfactions, indices de fidélité) et d'outils de classification (analyses Cluster, NMDS). Les associations d'espèces vivantes varient dans l'espace en fonction de paramètres environnementaux comme le type du substrat ou la profondeur. La composition des assemblages morts diffère des écosystèmes vivants, mais ils conservent globalement les informations environnementales. Les assemblages morts sont en général plus diversifiés que les communautés vivantes associées, à cause de l'accumulation de nombreuses espèces rares. Cet enrichissement s'explique par : 1) la préservation des coquilles autochtones, 2) l'apport de coquilles allochtones et 3) la condensation du temps. Des différences de fidélité entre les communautés biologiques et les assemblages de coquilles mortes apparaissent en fonction des environnements. Par exemple, les environnements à substrat induré sont associés à une mauvaise préservation des communautés vivantes, contrairement aux environnements profonds qui conservent bien les espèces autochtones mais accumulent beaucoup d'espèces allochtonesThe thesis explores how the properties of biodiversity are preserved in the sedimentary archives. Discussions are supported by the analysis of the modern tropical fauna of the Touho Lagoon (New Caledonia), collected during the Montrouzier expedition in 1993. The differences between live bivalve assemblages and dead shell assemblages are quantified with various indices (taxonomic richness, PIE index of evenness, rarefaction curves, fidelity indices) and classification tools (Cluster analyses, NMDS).Environmental parameters, such as the type of substrate or the water-depth, are responsible for variations among live species associations. The composition of dead shell assemblages differs from the living communities but environmental informations arepreserved. Generally, the dead shell assemblages are more diversified than live fauna of the same sites because of the accumulation of rare species. The higher diversity of dead shell assemblages can be explained by 1) the preservation of autochthonous bivalve shells, 2) the input of allochthonous shells and 3) the time-averaging. The fidelity of dead shell assemblages to the biological communities varies according to the environmental conditions. For example, dead shell assemblages found on hard substrate environments may be very different from the living communities. Allochthonous species tend to accumulate in deep outer shelf environments... Salinity, substrate or water-depth are main perturbation factors, as they imply loss or gain of taxa.The preservation of living communities varies according to the biological caracteristics, such as ecology, population structure or shells mineralogy
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Maurin, Tiphaine. "Occupations humaines de l’Oldowayen ancien et facteurs en-vironnementaux : interrelations et évolutions à partir des en-sembles archéologiques de la Formation de Shungura (Basse Vallée de l'Omo, Éthiopie)." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017BORD0891/document.
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Dans la Formation de Shungura l’apparition du comportement de taille de la pierre coïncide avec l’apparition de l’Oldowayen ancien et se concentre sur un laps de temps relativement resserré (Membre F et partie inférieure du Membre G ; 2,32 Ma à 2 Ma), bien que les hominidés fossiles soient présents tout au long de la séquence (3,6 à 1 Ma). Afin de questionner les interrelations et l’évolution entre les occupations humaines de l’Oldowayen ancien et les facteurs environnementaux, une approche multi-scalaire a été développée. Elle permet d’intégrer les très nombreuses données archéologiques (une centaine d’occurrences dans le Membre F et une cinquantaine dans la partie inférieure du Membre G) et paléoenvironnementales (incluant plusieurs milliers de spécimens pa-léontologiques des Membres E et F et les données géologiques de terrain). Selon le degré de préci-sion spatio-temporelle de ces différents registres de données, trois échelles d’analyse ont été rete-nues (complexe archéologique, zone d’étude, formation). L’analyse spatiale et taphonomique des données archéologiques couplée à l’analyse des cortèges fauniques a permis de démontrer que seul un petit nombre d’occurrences correspond à des occupations initiales dans le Membre F. Elles sont localisées à la base du Membre F, à proximité du paléo-fleuve Omo, dans un contexte général d’ouverture et d’aridification croissantes du milieu. À cela s’ajoute une répartition spatiale différen-tielle de certains taxons entre la partie nord et la partie sud de l’aire Type, qui pourrait être le mar-queur d’une plus grande emprise des zones humides dans le paysage de la partie sud de la Formation de ShunguraThe appearance of stone tool making behavior In the Shungura Formation coincides with the appearance of the early Oldowan. It lasts over a limited time period (Member F and the lower part of Member G: 2.32 Ma to 2 Ma), while hominid fossils are present in all members, from 3.6 Ma to 1 Ma. A multi-scalar approach was developed for assessing potential interrelations and co-evolution be-tween Early Oldowan human occupations and environmental factors. This approach has allowed to include an extensive set of archaeological and paleoenvironmental data (a hundred of occurrences in Member F and ca. fifty occurrences in the lower part of Member G, thousands of faunal remains from Members E and F, and field geological data). Depending on the spatial and temporal resolution of these different records, I have defined three scales of analysis, from archeological complex scale, to study area and formation scales. The combination of spatial and taphonomical analyses of archeo-logical data, coupled with the analysis of faunal assemblages, suggest that only few archeological occurrences correspond to primary occupations in Member F. They are all located in the lower part of Member F, in the vicinity of the Omo paleoriver, in a global context of opening up and drying of the environment. Additionally, the differential spatial distribution of several faunal taxa between the northern and southern parts of the Type area could mark a greater extension of wet areas in the southern part of the Shungura Formation
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Pinto, Maria Clara da Silva. "Assinaturas tafonômicas de gastrópodes atuais do litoral de Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo : biodiversidade e implicações ambientais. /." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/152933.
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Estudos actuopaleontológicos sobre os danos que o ambiente e outros organismos causam nas conchas de gastrópodes, tanto fósseis como atuais no Brasil, são incipientes e há pouca produção na área. Este trabalho estudou as frequências de cinco assinaturas tafonômicas, tais como abrasão, fragmentação, bioerosão, incrustação e dissolução observadas em 895 bioclastos coletados em três localidades da costa litorânea brasileira: Macaé-RJ, com sua linha de costa aberta, desprotegida e adjacente à área de ressurgência de Cabo Frio-RJ; Ubatuba-SP, com linha de costa recortada, caracterizada por pouca energia; e Cananéia-SP no extremo sul paulista, com sua linha de costa aberta e influência estuarina. As coletas bióticas a abióticas, realizadas em parceria com o LabCam (Unesp/Bauru), aconteceram mensalmente, de junho de 2013 a julho de 2014, com a utilização de barco camaroeiro e rede de arrasto em profundidades de 5 a 15 metros. A Olivancillaria urceus e a Buccinanops gradatus se destacaram pela quantidade entre as 16 espécies identificadas nas três localidades. Demarcaram-se padrões de assinaturas tafonômicas em dois diferentes grupos (subambientes), relacionados principalmente com a estabilidade da concha/sedimento. Esta estabilidade mostrou relação com a profundidade, recorte da costa e distância geográfica de ilhas, área de ressurgência e correntes. Esta observação permitirá estabelecer termos comparativos para o estudo de concentrações fossilíferas, melhorando o entendimento de sua gênese e contribuindo, assim, para o aprimoramento da interpretação paleoecológica.
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Oertle, Annette. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space: Untangling site formation and taphonomic processes on archaeological shell from the tropical Indo-Pacific." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/21080.
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Understanding the formation and transformation of an archaeological site is imperative to creating robust inferences about human behaviour. Relatively little work has been undertaken on the varying anthropic and non-anthropic taphonomic processes that affect shell-bearing archaeological sites, particularly in tropical locations which are prone to extreme weathering and issues of long-term preservation. This thesis provides a greater comprehension of taphonomic processes impacting archaeological shell material and uses this understanding to untangle complex spatial and temporal aspects of an archaeological site in the Indo-Pacific. Two key areas of shell taphonomy include thermal influences, such as burning and heating, and acid dissolution. Experimental studies were undertaken on each of these processes and show variable results between taxa or microstructural type. Building upon these experiments, high-resolution taphonomic analyses of archaeological shell from Golo Cave, Gebe Island, Indonesia highlight taxon-specific patterning of various taphonomic processes (seen through varying physical traces) as well as overall trends in material deposition and preservation linked to human behaviours. The individual environmental conditions of this site also impact the types and intensity of taphonomic processes and thus the formation and transformation of the deposits. This is primarily seen through fragmentation rates, burning, physical abrasion, chemical dissolution, and bioerosion. Thermal influences have a distinct impact on the presence and degree of other taphonomic processes such as bioerosion and fragmentation, highlighting the connectivity between different processes. High-resolution analyses of shell midden from this site reveals periods of intensive occupation and changes in environmental conditions. Each shell tells a story, thus high-resolution taphonomic analyses provides a method to understand how different variables impact the formation and transformation of a site. This approach to shell analysis can provide a sharper understanding of the occupation of a site, particularly when stratigraphy does not provide a clear picture of site formation. It is through the examination of pre- and post-depositional taphonomic processes that archaeologists can create robust inferences about human behaviour, hence the importance of discerning the effects of varying processes on shell material.
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O'Brien, R. Christopher. "Forensic animal necrophagy in the South-West of Western Australia : species, feeding patterns and taphonomic effects." University of Western Australia. School of Anatomy and Human Biology, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0195.
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[Truncated abstract] One of the standard ways of assessing time since death is from the stages of decomposition of the body. It is well known that the rate of decomposition is affected by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. Another factor that can affect decompositional rates is the presence of breaches in the protective barrier of the skin, whether arising from antemortem injury or postmortem damage, including that occurring from animal necrophagy. Scavengers have the potential to affect decomposition by breaching the skin allowing access to associated insect material, feeding on the maggot masses, or by consumption of the carcass itself. Each locality will have its own set of features determining the rate of decomposition of the body, and variation may occur within localities based on the seasons. Such variation implies the need for local calibration of time since death against degree of decomposition and to establish the magnitude of interseasonal variation. When the localities are outdoors, the influence of potential scavengers, and the factors affecting their activity need also to be taken into account. This study investigates the interaction of environmental factors and animal scavenging on the rate of decomposition of pig (Sus scrofa) carcasses at four south-west Western Australia sites; Jandakot, Shenton Park, Perup Forest, and Watheroo National Park. Jandakot and Shenton Park are both close to the Perth metropolitan area and the western coast while Perup Forest is southern and inland and Watheroo is northern and inland. ... The most common insectivore feeding in relation to the carcasses was the Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) which was associated with the carcasses in all seasons and all locations except for Perup Forest. The breeding cycle appeared to have a marked influence on the intensity of scavenging by several species. The effect of season on decompositional rates was greatly reduced in carcasses that were exposed to scavenging. It took no additional time for carcasses to achieve skeletonization in winter than in the other seasons in the presence of scavenging. Scavenging had no significant impact on the rate of breakdown of carcasses in summer, when decompositional rates were greatest and scavenging at a minimum. v In Western Australia, it is not uncommon for bodies to remain undiscovered in bush environments for lengthy periods of time due to the low human population density. This study shows conclusively that it is not sufficient simply to consider the accumulated degree day (ADD) when estimating time since death by the degree of decomposition of the body. Attention must also be given to local wildlife assemblages and variations in their activities with the seasons. The implications of this research are in the determination of time of death. If the effects of scavengers accelerate decomposition this must be taken into account when any calculation since time of death is determined. The marked variations between sites in the rates of decomposition of carcasses exposed to natural animal scavenging in this study highlights the need for local calibration of time since death to decompositional stages for all locales. The techniques devised in this study are straight forward and easily conducted yet are informative and essential in determining time since death for bodies which have been exposed to animal scavenging.
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Higgs, Nicholas Dawson. "The taphonomy of giants: whale-falls and the bioerosion of whale skeletons." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.581879.
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In the last two decades a series of chance discoveries and dedicated research programmes have produced a wealth of data on the post-mortem fate of whale carcasses. Biological taphonomic processes at whale skeletons on the seafloor are driven by chemical energy in the form of abundant lipid reserves in whale skeletons. Previously unrecognised variations in the lipid content of bones from different parts of whale skeletons explained patterns of faunal colonisation and bone degradation. Experimental work to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these relationships demonstrated that the breakdown of bone lipids retards. microbial digestion of the bones, leading to differential degradation of the skeleton. Furthermore, analysis of total skeletal lipid content shows that when this value is high «1000 kg) skeletons may last for decades on the seabed until degradation or burial leading to a taphonomic bias towards large mature individuals. Another key factor in determining the longevity of whale skeletons on the seafloor is the activity of Osedax tubeworms, which bore into the bones, using them as a source of nutrition. Micro computed-tomography was used to investigate multiple aspects of bone destruction by Osedax. Rates of bone erosion by Osedax mucofloris in experimentally deployed bones varied between 1-6% per year, depending on the density of colonisation. The boring morphology of thirteen Osedax species were quantitatively described and analysed. Most species preferentially utilise the collagen matrix of the bone through the erosion of individual bone trabeculae, indicating that bone structure is largely responsible for the boring morphology. Using this information Osedax borings were described in a fossil whale bone from shelf-depth sediments from the Pliocene of Italy, indicating that by this time Osedax was widespread throughout the world's oceans. Further evidence of Osedax bioerosion in samples from the abyssal Pacific suggests that these worms probably have a worldwide distribution today.
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Riley, David Anthony. "Preservation and taphonomy of the fossils of the Herefordshire (Silurian) Konservat-Lagerstätte." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/10317.
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The Herefordshire Lagerstätte represents a fully marine Silurian ecosystem, three dimensionally soft-bodied fossils, preserved by sparry calcite, which are recovered from carbonate concretions. Although, a taphonomic model exists it does not determine the pathways that led to their preservation, nor has it been tested on the other taxa recovered from the Lagerstätte. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis indicates the sediment originated from an andesitic volcano from a destructive plate margin. Field relationships suggest that the bed was deposited from either a turbidity current or debris flow. Given the highly reactive nature of the volcanic ash, the cation exchanges that occur provide a mechanism for supersaturating the pore-fluid with carbonates. Examination of the four common taxa; Offacolus kingi (arthropod), Tanazios dokeron (arthropod), Kenostrychus clementsi (polychaete worm) and Acaenoplax hayae (mollusc), indicates a similar pathway of preservation. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) identifies the only impurity within the fossil calcite is manganese; in comparison the concretion carbonates contain a variety of different cations. Therefore, the fossils and the concretions are the result of different processes, which were not coeval. Comparing the preservation Kenostrychus clementsi (polychaete) against experimental work indicates that preservation occurred within 6 days and rules out the occurrence of a void stage as previously thought. In addition, it also suggests that preservation was either instantaneous or there must have been an intermediate “medusa” stage that preserved the tissue prior to templating. Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) data indicate that the clay minerals that precipitated around the decaying animal were templating the organic matter. To precipitate the sparry calcite without the void stage, an hypothesis is proposed in which the sparry calcite nucleates and grows through the soft tissues. Isotopic data indicates that the concretions are not produced by organic matter decay. This is supported by the lack of correlation between the concretion and the fossil and the occurrence of barren concretions. Radial variation in the mineralogy, chemistry and isotopic ratios support the hypothesis that these concretions grew concentrically around a non-organic nucleus. These exceptional conditions may account for a preservation style that is so far unique to this single exposure.
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Callow, Richard H. T. "The co-evolution of biology anf taphonomy across the proterozoic-cambrian transition." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.504316.
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Bird, James Vernon Jr. "Taphonomy of Sediments| Bioturbation in the Triassic Moenkopi Formation in Southwestern Utah." Thesis, Loma Linda University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10131425.
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Measurement of bioturbation reflects physical and biological processes operating over time and can be used to reveal information about paleo-environments. The purpose of this study was to determine the intensity of bioturbation in Triassic Moenkopi Formation at Hurricane Mesa in Southwestern Utah. This formation is interpreted as having been deposited mostly in large ancient river channels, tidal flats, delta and shallow marine environments. Five stratigraphic sections measured in the Virgin Limestone Member provided the basis for this study. Detailed descriptions and quantification of bioturbation were recorded in each of the sections. Similar treatment was given to additional study sites in the rest of the formation, above the Virgin Limestone. Treatments on selected samples were implemented to better reveal evidence of bioturbation. In these treatments samples were coated with water or oil, etched with HCL and viewed under blacklight. Integrating the results of the treatments with x-ray diffraction and petrographic analysis suggest that there was minimal bioturbation. These findings are consistent with more rapid deposition than previously reported by other researchers.
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Page, Alexander Alfred. "Graptolitic mudrocks and their implications for the taphonomy of organic compression fossils." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/30464.
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This thesis addresses graptolitic mudrocks in an Earth system context and examines issues concerning the preservation of organic carbon. It investigates the palaeoenvironmental and paleoecological aspects of these mudrocks. It relates their deposition to climate modulation in an hitherto-unrecognised Early Palaeozoic Icehouse, and reassesses the fossils of the problematic genus Dawsonia Nicholson. This work identifies seven glacial maxima in the Late Ordovician and Early Silurian recognised by the occurrence of well-dated glacial deposits coincident with stable isotope excursions and eustatic regressions. Comparison of these data with the occurrence of graptolitic shales reveals that deglacial transgressions led to increased stratification of the water column and the onset of widespread marine anoxia. The burial of organic carbon in these deglacial anoxic events may have served as a negative feedback mechanism by drawing down sufficient atmospheric carbon dioxide to prevent runaway warming and stabilise this long-lived Early Palaeozoic Icehouse. This study suggests that graptolites are best viewed as a mixed-layer zooplankton and that their occurrence in anoxic mudrocks should be regarded as representing the conditions they were preserved in rather than those in which they lived. Comparison of published data on graptolite diversity with the oxic-anoxic stratigraphy for the EPI shows there is no strong link between graptolite diversity and marine anoxia. Meanwhile, the general absence of graptolites from bioturbated facies may reflect enhanced decay and scavenging related to well-oxygenated conditions; whilst the documentation of rare occurrences of graptolites in oxic facies and those from above the storm wave base shows that they could live in well-oxygenated waters. Though anoxia alone is insufficient to explain the fossilisation of organic-walled fossils and conversion of subfossil cuticle to a more stable biopolymer may have inhibited degradation, it is clear that fossilisation does not render such fossils entirely inert or homogeneous. Analysis of multifaunal assemblages, such as those preserving Dawsonia Nicholson (shown to be brachiopods, crustacean tailpieces and an organic-walled problematicum), where graptolites co-occur with shelly fossils and diagenetic pyrite, shows that graptolites acted as a key site for phyllosilicate authigenesis in very low-grade metamorphism. Petrographic evidence and comparison with white mica crystallinity data suggests that the expulsion of volatiles in maturation may have catalysed the formation of phyllosilicates on these fossils. This mode of phyllosilicate formation may also account for the formation of phyllosilicate films on Burgess Shale fossils.
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Skinner, Ethan S. "Taphonomy of exceptionally preserved fossils from the Kinzers Formation (Cambrian), southeastern Pennsylvania." The Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1090592371.
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Lutze, Ashleigh. "Back in the cycle: A review of the taphonomy of biomineralised tissues." Thesis, Lutze, Ashleigh (2022) Back in the cycle: A review of the taphonomy of biomineralised tissues. Masters by Coursework thesis, Murdoch University, 2022. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/65639/.
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After death, bones and teeth, biomineralized tissues composed of an organic and an inorganic part, are often the last remaining structures of an organism. The processes that affect biological tissues post-mortem is collectively defined as taphonomy. Forensic taphonomy studies the post-mortem modifications of remains in relation to a variety of physical, chemical, or biological agents, with the aim of assisting forensic investigations. Current research has typically focused on taphonomic effects observed in single depositional environments. This review summarizes the to-date information on the known taphonomic agents present across five depositional environments (burial, subaerial exposure, aquatic environments, burnt and frozen remains), and the effects generated on biomineralized tissues. Taphonomy is a relatively new sub-discipline of forensic anthropology and includes several areas where research is limited, such as the taphonomic processes in frozen and aquatic environments and the post-mortem alterations of teeth. As more research is conducted, the benefit of incorporating forensic taphonomy into forensic investigations have become increasingly evident. Each depositional environment features a range of characteristic taphonomic effects, which may be used to generate an accurate description of the post-mortem histories of remains. By providing training in forensic taphonomy investigative techniques, and incorporating them into investigations, more precise information may be gathered, potentially leading to faster turnaround times and case resolutions. The information presented in this review will prove useful in assisting the forensic community and may stimulate future research.
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Jackson, Frances Drew. "Titanosaur reproductive biology comparison of the Auca Mahuevo Titanosaur nesting locality (Argentina), to the Pinyes Megaloolithus nesting locality (Spain) /." Diss., Montana State University, 2007. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2007/jackson/JacksonF0507.pdf.
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