The deep-sea microfossil record of macroevolutionary change in plankton and its study
David B. Lazarus
10.6084/m9.figshare.3452927.v1
https://geolsoc.figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_deep-sea_microfossil_record_of_macroevolutionary_change_in_plankton_and_its_study/3452927
<p>The deep-sea planktonic microfossil record (foraminifera, coccolithophores, diatoms, radiolaria and dinoflagellates) provides
a unique resource for palaeobiology. Despite some geographical gaps due to poor regional preservation, and intermittant time
intervals lost to erosion, most time periods for each Cenozoic planktonic biogeographical province are preserved. Vast numbers
of specimens and numerous deep-sea cores provide abundant material and the opportunity to tightly integrate macroevolutionary
and palaeoenvironmental data. Current documentation of this record is mixed. Catalogues for foraminifera and coccolithophores
offer nearly complete species-level clade histories, but taxonomy for siliceous microfossils is incomplete. Published occurrence
data is primarily stratigraphic and covers only a fraction of the total preserved diversity. Age models for some sections
are excellent (accuracy <em>c</em>. 100 kya) but for many other sections are still poor. Taxonomic errors, age model errors and reworking displace fossil occurrences
in time, complicating palaeobiological analysis. With additional taxonomic work, careful collection of whole fauna/floral
assemblage occurrence data, improved age models, and the development of better data filtering and analysis tools to deal with
data outliers the deep-sea microfossil record can deliver its promise of providing the most complete, detailed record of macroevolutionary
change available to science.
</p>
2016-06-21 10:59:40
macroevolutionary change
Cenozoic planktonic biogeographical province
occurrence
intermittant time intervals
foraminifera
microfossil record
planktonic microfossil record
age model errors
coccolithophore
age models
data
analysis
section
Geology