热河生物群保存有各种罕见的组织类型，包括完整的软体动物硬体外壳，甲壳类磷灰石与硬蛋白混合外壳，昆虫类几丁质外骨骼，脊椎动物的皮肤、鳞片、毛发、羽毛，甚至色素体，动物器官内含物的残留等，对致力于古生态学和埋葬学的研究者来说都是无比珍贵的材料。本项目拟集中研究热河生物群中特异埋葬的水生动物化石，以双壳、腹足、介形类、水生昆虫、叶肢介、鱼类、两栖类和水生爬行类为代表类群。通过对不同代表类群化石埋葬形式和保存差异的观察和分析，结合其埋葬环境的解析和实验埋葬学的对比，揭示热河生物群水生动物化石的特异埋葬模式，为进一步理解热河生物群的古生态学，以及重建早白垩世湖泊生态系统提供基础。同时以特异埋葬的热河生物群水生动物化石及相关地质记录作为天然实验室，验证地史中特异埋葬的各种假说，提炼出不同时空范围特异埋葬发生的普遍条件。对这些问题的探讨将为人们认识各个地史时期不同化石宝库特异埋葬的一般机理提供理论基础。

The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota yield all kinds of fossilized tissues, e.g., fully articulated mollusca shells, mixed skleroprotein-calcium phosphate valves, exoskeletons of insects, eggs of arthropods, skin compressions, scales, furs, feathers, melanosomes, as well as stomach contents of vertebrates, offering enormous information for palaeontologists, in particular those interested in ecological and taphonomic analyses. This research centres around the taphonomic aspects of the aquatic fauna that comprises bivalves, gastropods, ostracods, aquatic insects, clam shrimps, fishes, amphibians and aquatic reptiles. The aim of the proposed research is to understand the exceptionally preservational process of the aquatic fauna of the Jehol Biota, revealing the preservational patterns of different groups, to work on the interface between palaeontology and sedimentology, and further carry out relevant taphonomic experiments. The proposed research is expected to make some critical contribution to our understanding of the palaeoecosystem of the Early Cretaceous lakes. Additionally, various hypotheses on the excetional preservation of fossil lagerst?tten will be reviewed in order to discuss their taphonomic mechanism based on studies of the Jehol aquatic animals. Finally, we will investigate some environmental or early diagenetic factors that might have affected the general taphonomic model of the exceptioanl preservation of various fossil lagerst?tten.