Ichnologic evidence of ecospace utilization in mid to late Paleozoic marine environments

技术包括对生物与底物之间相互作用产生的生物结构的研究。因为痕迹化石通常是由软体动物产生的，所以它们不像身体化石那样受到保存的限制。微量化石的研究通过提供动物与基质在深时间内相互作用的视角，对我们理解过去不断变化的生态有很大的贡献。此外，由于痕量化石通常与环境因素密切相关，相分析已成为一种日益完善的技术，因此有可能为痕量化石提供比身体化石更详细的相约束特征。虽然处理宏观进化影响的大多数技术研究都集中在生物扰动程度上，但目前有一套更复杂和丰富的概念和方法工具可供使用，包括生物多样性、生物差异和底栖生态空间占用和生态系统工程分析。本研究旨在进一步探讨中晚古生代生态空间利用模式。因此，本项目的目标是：(1)在环境背景下记录志留系至二叠纪海洋鱼动物群；(2)评估志留系至二叠纪期间的鱼类多样性和差异轨迹；(3)分析中晚古生代海洋沉积剖面的生态空间利用和生态系统工程。该项目包括建立志留纪-二叠纪数据库，修订化石标本，并在不同的志留纪-二叠纪关键地区进行实地考察。通过将研究扩展到古生代的其他部分，该项目代表了申请人所承担的更广泛的研究计划的延续。这个项目的重要性可以通过以下事实得到证明：所建议的方法已经在埃迪卡拉纪-奥陶纪的时间跨度上产生了高影响力的论文。

Ichnology comprises the study of biogenic structures that result from the interactions between organisms and the substrate. Because trace fossils are commonly produced by soft-bodied animals, they are not subjected to the same preservational constrains than body fossils. The study of trace fossils has much to contribute to our understanding of the changing ecology of the past by providing a perspective of animal-substrate interactions in deep time. Also, because trace fossils typically display a close link with environmental factors and facies analysis has become an increasingly refined technique, it is possible to provide a more detailed characterization of facies constraints for trace fossils than for body fossils. Although the majority of ichnologic studies dealing with macroevolutionary implications has focused on degree of bioturbation, a more sophisticated and rich set of conceptual and methodological tools is currently available, including ichnodiversity, ichnodisparity and analysis of benthic ecospace occupation and ecosystem engineering. This proposal aims to further explore patterns of ecospace utilization during the mid to late Paleozoic. Therefore, the objectives of this project are to: (1) document Silurian to Permian marine ichnofaunas in their environmental context, (2) assess ichnodiversity and ichnodisparity trajectories during the Silurian to Permian, and (3) analyze ecospace utilization and ecosystem engineering along the marine depositional profile during the middle to late Paleozoic. This project implies compilation of a database for the Silurian-Permian, revision of trace-fossil collections, and fieldwork in various key Silurian-Permian localities. By expanding research to the rest of the Paleozoic, this project represents a continuation of a broader research program undertaken by the applicant. The significance of this project is demonstrated by the fact that the suggested approach has already generated the publication of high-impact papers for the Ediacaran-Ordovician timespan.