Ancient mollusks can offer up crucial information on the health of aquatic ecosystems.
, the team’s first step was to find a suitable marine ecosystem to compare living and fossil organisms to examine the discrepancies between past and present communities. They used a relatively unchanged environment off the coast of North Carolina that had the skeletal remains of dead animals and living animals.
representing hundreds of different marine invertebrates. The thick shells of mollusks were overly represented in the fossil record, compared with other softer groups. However, the fragments of dead sand dollars, corals, tube-forming worms, and other non-mollusks were more broadly represented at the same level of both abundance and diversity as their living counterparts.
Brachiopods and sea stars that had less current-day diversity in the region were not seen in fossil record, partially due to their low numbers. Past and present habitats were also dominated by different species. For example, adidn’t appear in the fossil record, but the overall number of species in different groups remained consistent.
According to the team, most marine ecosystems do not have a complete inventory of the species that live there, and the existing count is shrinking as some species decline and others go extinct. If these other marine environments are archived like the one in North Carolina in this study, researchers will have a baseline to evaluate the long term viability in those communities.
“We can use the whole fossil assemblage as a picture into the past for a particular place despite differences in preservation among animals,” Tyler said. “By comparing it to the living community, we can see how much an ecosystem has changed and decide on the best conservation strategies based on those changes.
Argentina Últimas Noticias, Argentina Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Fossilized skeletons of aerial and aquatic predators to be auctioned by Sotheby'sThe fossilized skeletons of an aerial predator with a 20-foot wingspan and an aquatic reptile with a snake-like neck will be auctioned in New York this month.
Leer más »
Fossilized skeletons of aerial, aquatic predators to be auctioned by Sotheby'sA pteranodon is expected to go for between $4 million to $6 million. The other creature is a plesiosaur. Its estimated auction price is $600,000 to $800,000.
Leer más »
Step inside an ancient mummification workshopExcavations of an ancient mortuary complex in Egypt are shedding light on how the craft was once a booming business—and not just for pharaohs
Leer más »
Stone knives discovered in ancient Maya city near sacrificial altarArchaeologists found 16 knives made from flint and obsidian of a type that were used in sacrifices by the ancient Maya.
Leer más »
Lifespans of rivers revealed on Titan and ancient MarsSpace imagery is revealing water and methane rivers past and present.
Leer más »
Astronomers Observe Mind-Blowing Time Dilation in the Ancient Years of the UniverseBy observing quasars from 12 billion years ago, astronomers have seen the universe flow in slow-mo, thanks to wonky time dilation.
Leer más »