Biomineralizers from the Proterozoic to today : assessing taxonomy and paleoecology through the lens of taphonomy
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[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The onset of metazoan predation is presumed to have triggered an evolutionary arms race of prey defenses, including the advent of biomineralization. Escalating biological innovations profoundly affected the dynamics of early metazoan ecosystems and ultimately culminated in the geologically rapid radiation of true metazoans during the "Cambrian Explosion". The first direct evidence of predation was recorded in the first biomineralizing metazoan, specifically as drill holes in the skeletal tube of Cloudina. The terminal Ediacaran Period (~551-541) hosts a diverse array of tubular organisms, and holds vast potential for contributing to our understanding of both biotic turnover and the advent of stem lineages into the Cambrian. The first two chapters herein assess the taxonomy of newly reported tubiculous organisms from a locality in the Great Basin, Nevada, USA, using advanced microscopic techniques. The results of this study erect two new taxa and better resolve the phylogeny of these enigmatic organisms. In the last chapter, I report upon modern biological processes, such as the influence of predation, in molluscan communities. Specifically, this study considers the influence of environmental factors and how they operate within spatial and chemical gradients in order to assess the stratigraphic scale of the incipient fossil record at Pigeon Creek, San Salvador, Bahamas. This study reinforces the idea that small scale local environmental gradients can strongly influence biotic communities and that spatial and environmental variation must be considered in order to properly interpret temporal trends in the fossil record.
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