Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction
The interpretation of biotic changes in the geological past relies on the assumption that samples from different time intervals represent an equivalent suite of natural sampling conditions. As a result, detailed investigations of taphonomic regimes during intervals of major biotic upheaval, such as...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3492321 2023-05-15T16:03:52+02:00 Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction Mander, Luke Wesseln, Cassandra J. McElwain, Jennifer C. Punyasena, Surangi W. 2012-11-07 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492321 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23145104 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492321 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23145104 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Research Article Text 2012 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 2013-09-04T15:37:31Z The interpretation of biotic changes in the geological past relies on the assumption that samples from different time intervals represent an equivalent suite of natural sampling conditions. As a result, detailed investigations of taphonomic regimes during intervals of major biotic upheaval, such as mass extinctions, are crucial. In this paper, we have used variations in the frequency of chemical and mechanical sporomorph (pollen and spore) damage as a guide to taphonomic regimes across the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction (Tr-J; ∼201.3 Ma) at a boundary section at Astartekløft, East Greenland. We find that the frequency of sporomorph damage is extremely variable in samples from this locality. This likely reflects a combination of taxon-specific susceptibility to damage and the mixing of sporomorphs from a mosaic of environments and taphonomic regimes. The stratigraphic interval containing evidence of plant extinction and compositional change in the source vegetation at Astartekløft is not marked by a consistent rise or fall in the frequency of sporomorph damage. This indicates that natural taphonomic regimes did not shift radically during this critical interval. We find no evidence of a consistent relationship between the taxonomic richness of sporomorph assemblages and the frequency of damage among sporomorphs at Astartekløft. This indicates that previously reported patterns of sporomorph richness across the Tr-J at this locality are likely to be robust. Taken together, our results suggest that the patterns of vegetation change at Astartekløft represent a real biological response to environmental change at the Tr-J. Text East Greenland Greenland PubMed Central (PMC) Greenland PLoS ONE 7 11 e49153 |
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Research Article Mander, Luke Wesseln, Cassandra J. McElwain, Jennifer C. Punyasena, Surangi W. Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
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Research Article |
description |
The interpretation of biotic changes in the geological past relies on the assumption that samples from different time intervals represent an equivalent suite of natural sampling conditions. As a result, detailed investigations of taphonomic regimes during intervals of major biotic upheaval, such as mass extinctions, are crucial. In this paper, we have used variations in the frequency of chemical and mechanical sporomorph (pollen and spore) damage as a guide to taphonomic regimes across the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction (Tr-J; ∼201.3 Ma) at a boundary section at Astartekløft, East Greenland. We find that the frequency of sporomorph damage is extremely variable in samples from this locality. This likely reflects a combination of taxon-specific susceptibility to damage and the mixing of sporomorphs from a mosaic of environments and taphonomic regimes. The stratigraphic interval containing evidence of plant extinction and compositional change in the source vegetation at Astartekløft is not marked by a consistent rise or fall in the frequency of sporomorph damage. This indicates that natural taphonomic regimes did not shift radically during this critical interval. We find no evidence of a consistent relationship between the taxonomic richness of sporomorph assemblages and the frequency of damage among sporomorphs at Astartekløft. This indicates that previously reported patterns of sporomorph richness across the Tr-J at this locality are likely to be robust. Taken together, our results suggest that the patterns of vegetation change at Astartekløft represent a real biological response to environmental change at the Tr-J. |
format |
Text |
author |
Mander, Luke Wesseln, Cassandra J. McElwain, Jennifer C. Punyasena, Surangi W. |
author_facet |
Mander, Luke Wesseln, Cassandra J. McElwain, Jennifer C. Punyasena, Surangi W. |
author_sort |
Mander, Luke |
title |
Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
title_short |
Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
title_full |
Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
title_fullStr |
Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction |
title_sort |
tracking taphonomic regimes using chemical and mechanical damage of pollen and spores: an example from the triassic–jurassic mass extinction |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492321 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23145104 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 |
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Greenland |
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Greenland |
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East Greenland Greenland |
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East Greenland Greenland |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492321 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23145104 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 |
op_rights |
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049153 |
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PLoS ONE |
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7 |
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11 |
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e49153 |
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