Trace Fossils and Bioturbation Across the Vendian-Cambrian Boundary

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Trace Fossils and Bioturbation Across the
Vendian-Cambrian Boundary
Treptichnus (Phycodes) pedum
Photo courtesy of http//www.amherst.edu/jwhagado
rn/research/UpperCambrian/TraceFossils/
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What the hecksa Vendian?
Photos courtesy of http//www.peripatus.gen.nz/Pal
eontology/columnNeoproterozoic.jpg
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Trace fossils across the Vendian-Cambrian boundary
Past
544 mya
Future
Vendian
Cambrian
Planolites
Rusophycus
Photos courtesy of www.envs.emory.edu/ichnology/Gr
aphics/Planolites.jpg and http//www.paleoportal.o
rg/media/submissions/7/95633 respectively.
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Whats to come...

• Trace fossils across Vendian-Cambrian
• Bioturbation across Vendian-Cambrian
• Causes of bioturbation and diversification of
  trace fossils
• Effects of bioturbation

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Great Diversification (Vendian)
Ottoia
Aysheaia
Ediacaran fauna
Canadia
Photos courtesy of http//gpc.edu/pgore/geology/g
eo102/burgess/burgess.htm and http//www.mines.uta
h.edu/geo/courses/UOnline/EV_figs/evolfossils/
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Great Diversification (Cambrian)
Photo courtesy of http//www.trilobites.info/burge
ss_community_sm.jpg
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A brief history lesson...
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• Trace fossils do not extend beyond the start of
  the Vendian ( 605 mya)
• Earliest trace fossils are small cup-like
  impressions

Photo courtesy of http//www.palaeos.com/Proterozo
ic/Neoproterozoic/Ediacaran/Ediacaran.htm
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Bioturbation Ichnofabric Index
D!_at_r and Bottjer (1986)
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Historical Bioturbation

• Increase in bioturbator size over time

Monstercula scooby doous
Callianassa
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Historical Bioturbation

• Bioturbation begins in soft muddy sediments and
  progresses to shallow water sands

Photos courtesy of http//www.es.ucl.ac.uk/undergr
ad/fieldwork/image/fieldtrips/TraceFossils/ichno.h
tm
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1. Teichichnus 2. Plagiogmus 3.
Astropolichnus 1. Rusophycus 2. Cruziana 1.
Phycodes 2. Nereites 3. Monomorphichnus 1.
Harlaniella 2. Palaeopascichnus 3. Nenoxites
Evolution of trace fossils across Vendian-Cambrian
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Vendian Traces
Planolites
Helminthopsis
Photos courtesy of http//geol.queensu.ca/museum/e
xhibits/ediac/ediac.html and http//bioge.ubbcluj.
ro/ichno/morph_text.htm
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Vendian Microbial Mats
Photo courtesy of http//www.uwm.edu/sdornbos/Ima
ges/PoletaWrinkles.JPG
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Traces of the Lower Cambrian
Treptichnus (Phycodes) pedum
Photo courtesy of http//www.amherst.edu/jwhagado
rn/research/UpperCambrian/TraceFossils/
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More Treptichnus Pedum
Photos courtesy of http//pharyngula.org/images/tr
eptichnus_tease.gif, Scott Mata, and
http//www.envs.emory.edu/ichnology/Graphics/Phyco
des.jpg
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Traces of the Lower Cambrian
Dimorphichnus
Diplichnites
Photos courtesy of http//www.trilobites.info/Dipl
ichnites_Isotelus.jpg and http//www.envs.emory.ed
u/ichnology/Dimorphichnus.htm
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Traces of the Lower Cambrian
Rusophycus
Cruziana
Photos courtesy of www.envs.emory.edu/ichnology/Gr
aphics/Planolites.jpg and http//www.blackwellpubl
ishing.com/UK/SOCIETY/IAS/Images/NewsJune04_10.jpg
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Traces of the Lower Cambrian
Skolithos
Diplocraterion
Photos courtesy of http//home.arcor.de/northafric
a/66-10-Dateien/image002.jpg and
http//www.pliensbachium.de/yahoo/trace_fossils/di
plocraterion_parallelum02_small.jpg
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Ichnofabric index through time
McIlroy and Logan (1999)
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Causes for the onset of bioturbation
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Burial of organic matter
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Evolution of complex predators
Anomalocaris
Photo courtesy of http//www.astrosurf.org/lombry/
Bio/anomalocaris.jpg
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Effects of bioturbation

• Irrigation of sediments
• Blurring of sharp Vendian sediment-water
  interface
• Destruction of surficial microbial mats
• Shift to soft soupy sediments from firm mat
  covered sediments

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Effects on Paleobiology and Paleoecology
Bottjer et al. (2000)
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Bottjer et al. (2000)
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Conclusions
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Trace fossils show a marked diversification at
the Vendian-Cambrian boundary
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Bioturbation had its origin in the
diversification as well
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Bioturbation had effects on substrate consistency
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Shifts in substrate greatly affected paleobiology
and paleoecology
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Redpath Lake, NZ 13000K Type? Organism?
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References
Alpert, S.P., 1977, Trace fossils and the basal
Cambrian Boundary Trace fossils 2, Geological
Journal Special Issue No. 9, Seel House Press,
Liverpool, Great Britain, p. 1-8. Bottjer,
D.J., Droser, M.L., 1994, The history of
Phanerozoic bioturbation The Palaeobiology of
Trace Fossils, The John Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore, Maryland, p. 155-176. Bottjer, D.J.,
Hagadorn, J.W., Dornbos, S.Q., 2000, The Cambrian
substrate revolution GSA Today, v. 10, p.
1-7. Corsetti, F.A., Hagadorn, J.W., 2000,
Precambrian-Cambrian transition Death Valley,
United States Geology, v. 28, p.
299-302. Crimes, T.P., 1994, The period of early
evolutionary failure and the dawn of evolutionary
success the record of biotic changes across the
Precambrian-Cambrian boundary The
Palaeobiology of Trace Fossils, The John Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, p.
105-133. Crimes, T.P., Legg, I., Marcos, A.,
Arboleya, M., 1977, ?Late Precambrianlow Lower
Cambrian trace fossils from Spain Trace fossils
2, Geological Journal Special Issue No. 9, Seel
House Press, Liverpool, Great Britain, p.
91-138. Droser, M.L., Bottjer, D.J., 1986, A
semiquantitative field classification of
ichnofabric Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v.
56 p. 558-559. Droser, M.L., Jensen, S., Gehling,
J.G., Myrow, P.M., Narbonne, G.M., 2002,
Lowermost Cambrian Ichnofabrics from the Chapel
Island Formation, Newfoundland Implications
for the Cambrian Substrates PALAIOS, v. 17, p.
3-15. Droser, M.L., Gehling, J.G., Jensen, S.,
1999, When the worm turned Concordance of Early
Cambrian ichnofabric and trace-fossil record in
siliciclastic rocks of South Australia
Geology, v. 27, p. 625-628. Fedonkin, M.A., 1977,
PrecambrianCambrian ichnocoenoses of the east
European platform Trace fossils 2, Geological
Journal Special Issue No. 9, Seel House Press,
Liverpool, Great Britain, p. 183-195. Hagadorn,
J.W., Bottjer, D.J., 1999, Restriction of a Late
Proterozoic Biotope Suspect-Microbial Structures
and Trace Fossils at the Vendian-Cambrian
Transition PALAIOS, v. 14, p. 73-85. Jensen,
S., Droser, M.L., Gehling, J.G., 2005, Trace
fossils preservation and the early evolution of
animals Palaeogeography, Paleoclimatology,
Palaeoecology, v. 220, p. 19-29. McIlroy, D.,
Logan, G.A., 1999, The Impact of Bioturbation on
Infaunal Ecology and Evolution During the
Proterozoic-Cambrian Transition PALAIOS, v. 14,
p. 58-72. Seilacher, A., 1999, Biomat-Related
Lifestyles in the Precambrian PALAIOS, v. 14, p.
86-93.
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Questions?