Paleontology and Paleoecology Historical Perspectives on Fossils & Principles of Paleoecology

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

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

Niels Stenson (a.k.a. Nicholas Steno) ( ) Observations on sediments: –Superposition –Original horizontality –Original lateral continuity “tongue stones”

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

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

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

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

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

Environmental Factors that Influence Distribution of Organisms SalinityOxygenationTemperatureLightNutrients: –Type –Abundance –DistributionAgitation/Currents Clarity/Cloudiness of Water Substrate – preferences –Grain Size – firm/soft –Composition –Mobility/stability

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

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