Biovolume and ecoguild analysis of Late Paleozoic Ice Age benthic communities.

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), spanning approximately 360-292 Mya, coincided with extinctions observed in the fossil record, and previous work has interpreted the glaciation as a period of sluggish faunal turnover with depressed rates of speciation. Such studies, however, have relied on globally distributed database data, and conventional techniques for assessing community composition often fail to account for taxa that disarticulate readily post-mortem adequately. In this study, biovolume estimation techniques and ecological guild analysis are employed to analyze three benthic paleocommunities from the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) of Texas. Two in situ bulk samples were extracted from the lower and upper sections of shale strata to assess change in benthic communities over time. The results indicate considerable heterogeneity in benthic community structure through time. These findings emphasize the importance of small-scale paleocommunity analyses for understanding larger scale macroevolutionary trends in the context of the LPIA.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Maduro-Salvarrey, Leo A. (Leonardo A.), 1999-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Petsios, Elizabeth.

• Paleozoic.
• Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA)
• Benthic.
• Paleoecology.
• Biovolume.
• Ecospace.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13852

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13852