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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1990; v. 53; p. 155-176;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1990.053.01.09
© 1990 Geological Society of London

Fossilization potential of Arctic fjord and continental shelf benthic macrofaunas

Alec E. Aitken

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institut Maurice Lamontagne, C.P. 1000, 850 Route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, Quebec, Canada G5H 3Z4
Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

The organic remains of many organisms do not survive the post-mortem period. This study was undertaken to identify patterns of preservation in arctic marine macrofaunas with the goal of aiding Quaternary researchers in the interpretation of fossiliferous marine sediments. The probable fate of 310 genera of marine invertebrates which inhabit the fjords and continental shelf in the eastern Canadian Arctic was investigated. The preservation potential of marine invertebrates was assessed in three ways: by morphology (presence of macroscopic hardparts); by the previous existence of a fossil record (data for genera only taken from the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology); and by the previous record in Quaternary marine sediments on Baffin Island. Considering the arctic benthos as a whole, up to 860f the genera have not been preserved and are not likely to be preserved.

The fossil record preferentially preserves infaunal suspension feeding and epifaunal browsing organisms. Infaunal suspension feeding bivalves frequently contribute more than 500f the macroscopic hardparts in Quaternary fossil assemblages. The lack of preservation of soft-bodied carnivorous and deposit feeding organisms suggests that little understanding of community trophic dynamics based on the study of trophic group composition is likely to be derived from Quaternary fossil assemblages. Bivalves and gastropods inhabiting fjords and nearshore waters exhibit the greatest preservation potential of all the arctic marine benthos. The excellent preservation potential of arctic marine molluscs offers palaeoecologists the potential to reconstruct ancient marine biocoenoses in glacimarine environments.





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[Abstract] [PDF]