Paleoecology Lab: 2 Versions James R. Ebert Earth Sciences Department SUNY College at Oneonta

Paleoecology Lab: Context Earth History and the Fossil Record Commonly second geoscience course taken Majors in Geology Water Resources Earth Science Adolescence Education Earth Science Childhood Education (K-6)

Paleoecology Lab: Objectives Practice observation Recognize fossils in matrix Deduce paleoecological requirements of Individual species Assemblages of species Interpret environment based on paleoecological factors Support interpretations with specific observations and associated inferences

Paleoecology Lab – Lab Version Follows first lab on fossils Taphonomy – focus on mode of preservation Identification – major Paleozoic invertebrate groups First experience with assemblages First real experience with fossils in matrix First lab that requires interpretation of their own observations Materials: 4 assemblages

Assemblage 1: Reef Framework

Assemblage 2: High Abundance, Low Diversity - Intertidal

Assemblage 3: High Abundance, High Diversity – Open Shelf

Assemblage 4: High Abundance of Some Taxa, Moderate Diversity – Deeper Shelf

Paleoecology Lab – Field Version: Rickard Hill Road Project – Peering into Deep Time

Paleoecology Lab – Field Version Fall Semester: Replaces Lab version Spring Semester Done late in spring semester as one of two culminating field projects Combines paleontological observations with lithology and sedimentary structures First experience with fossils in the field Requires interpretation of their own observations Overall Objective: Reconstruct Environments of Deposition and Interpret Changes in Environment

Rickard Hill Stratigraphy Limestones of the Helderberg Group (L. Dev.) Upper Unit = Becraft Formation Lower Unit = Old Stone Fort Member (informal) of Becraft Formation (formerly Kalkberg Formation)

Old Stone Fort Member Rich and diverse fauna - 300+ species Brachiopods – minimum of 65 different species Bryozoans Sponges Crinoids Trilobites Rare Cephalopods, Tabulate corals, Pelecypods, Gastropods Some fossils are articulated and in life position Skeletal Wackestones to Grainstones Sedimentary Structures: Burrows Remnant ripples Cross stratification (small scale) Storm-Influenced Shelf

Becraft Formation Fauna is abundant, but disarticulated and abraded Diverse fauna, but less so than OSF Echinoderms predominate Aspidocrinus scutelliformis holdfasts in lower part Root-like holdfasts of Clonocrinus sp. in upper part Brachiopods Bryozoa Rare Tabulate Corals, Stromatoporoids, large Gastropods, Cephalopods, Trilobites Sedimentary Structures: Cross Stratification Alternations of coarse and finer beds/laminae Coarse Skeletal Grainstone Shallow, Tide-Dominated Shelf

Changing Environments: OSF – Becraft Contact Sharp Weathered reentrant into outcrop Clay at contact – weathered volcanic ash Intraclasts of OSF in lowest bed of Becraft Some intraclasts are exhumed fossils with adhered micrite Disconformity