Biominerals and Fossils Through Time

Abstract

Fossils are essential to the reconstruction of the evolution of life and episodes in Earth history. Fossil skeletal material serves as the repository of chemical data widely used in the reconstruction of the Earth's climate-ocean system at various time scales. Knowledge of biomineralizationthe processes associated with the formation of mineralized biological structuresis essential to properly evaluate data derived from fossils. Additionally, knowledge of biomineralization is critical to the understanding of major events in the evolution of faunas, such as the original appearance of skeletons and some major extinction events. This is the first book to concentrate on aspects of biomineralization through Earth history. The book emphasizes skeletal formation and fossilization in a geologic framework in order to understand evolution, relationships between fossil groups, and the use of biomineral materials as geochemical proxies for understanding ancient oceans and climates. Approaching the subject from this viewpoint allows the authors to link the biotic, physical, and chemical realms. The focus is on shells and skeletons of calcareous organisms, although the broader impacts of these processes on other elements are also addressed, especially their roles in the global chemical cycles of carbon and silicon. The book explores the fine structures and mode of growth of the characteristic crystalline units, taking advantage of the most recent physical methodological advances. It is richly illustrated and will be of great interest to advanced students and researchers in paleontology, Earth history, evolution, sedimentary geology, geochemistry, and materials science.

Reconstructing skeletal fiber arrangement and growth mode in the coral <i>Porites lutea</i> (Cnidaria, Scleractinia): a confocal Raman microscopy study

“…This vertical distance was deposited within 12 days (derived from mean growth rates for this species; see Nothdurft and Webb, 2007) and equals a lateral growth of 3 µm per day. Based on the growth rates determined in this study and the study by Meibom et The differences in growth cycles per day could have various nature and are suggested to derive from (1) stress from the staining process (Thebault et al, 2006;Houlbreque et al, 2009), (2) nutritional status (Cuif et al, 2011), (3) speciesspecific differences (Cuif et al, 2011), and/or (4) growth rates could differ depending on the location within the skeleton. All of these factors may be relevant; however, a nonlinear growth rate in lateral and longitudinal direction, different growth rates depending on the distance from the EMZ and non-regular growth can explain the observed decrease in number of growth cycles when tracing growth lines over larger areas.…”

“…Thus, this study and the study by Meibom et al (2007) observed a slightly higher number of cycles per day for Porites spp. than Cuif et al (2011) for Galaxea fascicularis. Nothdurft and Webb (2007) observed that a vertical extension of 384 µm equals 36 µm in lateral growth by tracking growth lines in a skeletal rod of Porites lobata.…”

“…Thus, both cyclicity and growth layer thickness correspond to the values obtained in this study and support the capability of CRM to trace growth lines. Cuif et al (2011) obtained 10-15 cycles per week (∼ 2 cycles per day) for Galaxea fascicularis from a consecutive calcein staining experiment. Thus, this study and the study by Meibom et al (2007) observed a slightly higher number of cycles per day for Porites spp.…”

Effect of ocean acidification on the benthic foraminifera <i>Ammonia</i> sp. is caused by a decrease in carbonate ion concentration

“…We define growth rate as the amount of growth (here calculated as the increase in shell weight) of the whole specimen over time, whereas chamber formation rate is defined as the weight increase in calcium carbonate during chamber formation. While these two parameters can be measured (e.g., Glas et al, 2012;Anderson and Faber, 1984), the assessment of the rate of biogenic precipitation of calcium carbonate is complicated, since biogenic calcium carbonate precipitation is mediated by organic membranes, whose contribution (e.g., surface area) cannot be determined experimentally (see, e.g., Cuif et al, 2011 for an overview). Growth rates were calculated from the incubation period of individual shells and final shell weight and have the unit µg day −1 ind −1 (ind = individual).…”

Raman Investigations to Identify Corallium rubrum in Iron Age Jewelry and Ornaments

“…The loss of color of archaeological corals is probably linked to diagenetic alterations occurring over time due to various processes, depending on the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, acidity and composition of the soil, activity of microorganisms), which were very well studied for other biominerals, like bones or teeth (e.g., [55]). This raises the question of where the colorants are actually located.…”