The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration
ABSTRACT The microfossil record contains abundant, diverse, and well‐preserved fossils spanning multiple trophic levels from primary producers to apex predators. In addition, microfossils often constitute and are preserved in high abundances alongside continuous high‐resolution geochemical proxy rec...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70470 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846114985886875648 |
|---|---|
| author | Adam Woodhouse Anshuman Swain Jansen A. Smith Elizabeth C. Sibert Adriane R. Lam Jennifer A. Dunne Alexandra Auderset |
| author_facet | Adam Woodhouse Anshuman Swain Jansen A. Smith Elizabeth C. Sibert Adriane R. Lam Jennifer A. Dunne Alexandra Auderset |
| author_sort | Adam Woodhouse |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The microfossil record contains abundant, diverse, and well‐preserved fossils spanning multiple trophic levels from primary producers to apex predators. In addition, microfossils often constitute and are preserved in high abundances alongside continuous high‐resolution geochemical proxy records. These characteristics mean that microfossils can provide valuable context for understanding the modern climate and biodiversity crises by allowing for the interrogation of spatiotemporal scales well beyond what is available in neo‐ecological research. Here, we formalize a research framework of “micropaleoecology,” which builds on a holistic understanding of global change from the environment to ecosystem level. Location: Global. Time period: Neoproterozoic‐Phanerozoic. Taxa studied: Fossilizing organisms/molecules. Our framework seeks to integrate geochemical proxy records with microfossil records and metrics, and draws on mechanistic models and systems‐level statistical analyses to integrate disparate records. Using multiple proxies and mechanistic mathematical frameworks extends analysis beyond traditional correlation‐based studies of paleoecological associations and builds a greater understanding of past ecosystem dynamics. The goal of micropaleoecology is to investigate how environmental changes impact the component and emergent properties of ecosystems through the integration of multi‐trophic level body fossil records (primarily using microfossils, and incorporating additional macrofossil data where possible) with contemporaneous environmental (biogeochemical, geochemical, and sedimentological) records. Micropaleoecology, with its focus on integrating ecological metrics within the context of paleontological records, facilitates a deeper understanding of the response of ecosystems across time and space to better prepare for a future Earth under threat from anthropogenic climate change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e1e81ad0a69d43b1af992f4d23dac4f2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-e1e81ad0a69d43b1af992f4d23dac4f22024-12-20T04:20:57ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-11-011411n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70470The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data IntegrationAdam Woodhouse0Anshuman Swain1Jansen A. Smith2Elizabeth C. Sibert3Adriane R. Lam4Jennifer A. Dunne5Alexandra Auderset6School of Earth Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UKDepartment of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USADepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Minnesota USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole Massachusetts USADepartment of Earth Sciences Binghamton University Binghamton New York USASanta Fe Institute Santa Fe New Mexico USASchool of Ocean and Earth Science University of Southampton Southampton UKABSTRACT The microfossil record contains abundant, diverse, and well‐preserved fossils spanning multiple trophic levels from primary producers to apex predators. In addition, microfossils often constitute and are preserved in high abundances alongside continuous high‐resolution geochemical proxy records. These characteristics mean that microfossils can provide valuable context for understanding the modern climate and biodiversity crises by allowing for the interrogation of spatiotemporal scales well beyond what is available in neo‐ecological research. Here, we formalize a research framework of “micropaleoecology,” which builds on a holistic understanding of global change from the environment to ecosystem level. Location: Global. Time period: Neoproterozoic‐Phanerozoic. Taxa studied: Fossilizing organisms/molecules. Our framework seeks to integrate geochemical proxy records with microfossil records and metrics, and draws on mechanistic models and systems‐level statistical analyses to integrate disparate records. Using multiple proxies and mechanistic mathematical frameworks extends analysis beyond traditional correlation‐based studies of paleoecological associations and builds a greater understanding of past ecosystem dynamics. The goal of micropaleoecology is to investigate how environmental changes impact the component and emergent properties of ecosystems through the integration of multi‐trophic level body fossil records (primarily using microfossils, and incorporating additional macrofossil data where possible) with contemporaneous environmental (biogeochemical, geochemical, and sedimentological) records. Micropaleoecology, with its focus on integrating ecological metrics within the context of paleontological records, facilitates a deeper understanding of the response of ecosystems across time and space to better prepare for a future Earth under threat from anthropogenic climate change.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70470biogeochemistrybiomarkersclimate changeconservation paleobiologyecosystemsIODP |
| spellingShingle | Adam Woodhouse Anshuman Swain Jansen A. Smith Elizabeth C. Sibert Adriane R. Lam Jennifer A. Dunne Alexandra Auderset The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration Ecology and Evolution biogeochemistry biomarkers climate change conservation paleobiology ecosystems IODP |
| title | The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration |
| title_full | The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration |
| title_fullStr | The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration |
| title_short | The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration |
| title_sort | micropaleoecology framework evaluating biotic responses to global change through paleoproxy microfossil and ecological data integration |
| topic | biogeochemistry biomarkers climate change conservation paleobiology ecosystems IODP |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70470 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adamwoodhouse themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT anshumanswain themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT jansenasmith themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT elizabethcsibert themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT adrianerlam themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT jenniferadunne themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT alexandraauderset themicropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT adamwoodhouse micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT anshumanswain micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT jansenasmith micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT elizabethcsibert micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT adrianerlam micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT jenniferadunne micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration AT alexandraauderset micropaleoecologyframeworkevaluatingbioticresponsestoglobalchangethroughpaleoproxymicrofossilandecologicaldataintegration |