Modern active microbialite-metazoan relationships in peritidal systems on the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa: Ecological significance and implication for the palaeontological record

Rishworth, Gavin M.; Edwards, Mark Joseph Kalahari; Cónsole-Gonella, Carlos; Perissinotto, Renzo

doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2019.02.013

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…The metazoan assemblage of the South African supratidal microbialites is composed primarily of oligochaetes, amphipods, tanaidids and polychaetes (Rishworth et al, , 2019Weston et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three tube-forming species are associated with the microbialites, namely Sinelobus stromatoliticus, Americorophium triaenonyx and Cyathura estuaria. Smaller tube (~0.3-0.7 mm diameter) formation is attributed to the activities of the Sinelobus and Americorophium species, while the larger tubes (~1.1 mm) are likely constructed by C. estuaria (Rishworth et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…layered (stromatolite) and non-layered (thrombolite) varieties and are collectively referred to as 'tufa microbialites' (Rishworth et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed descriptions of the macro-, meso-and microfabrics of the Port Elizabeth microbialites (Edwards, 2018;Edwards et al, 2017), together with an assessment of the influence of metazoan activities on the inner structure (Rishworth et al, 2019), provide important insights into the dynamic relationship existing between these microbialites and their metazoan inhabitants. The present study aims to add to the previous research by investigating the framework of actively accreting microbialites in the Port Elizabeth surroundings in terms of formation, porosity, sediment incorporation and metazoan interactions through microscopy and micro-computed tomography.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Metazoan activity facilitates passive sediment trapping in modern supratidal microbialites: Revealed using µ‐CT‐scanning and microscopy

et al. 2021

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Microbialites are formed through two processes, the trapping and binding of sediment grains and mineral precipitation. Sediment trapping and binding result in coarse sandy textures, whereas fine micritic textures are produced by mineral precipitation.Although well-studied modern microbialites (e.g. Bahamas and Shark Bay) are formed through the former process, purely trapped-and-bound examples are rare throughout the geologic record and limited to shallow-marine environments. Through the use of conventional microscopy and 3D micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) scanning, this study found that South African coastal microbialites have a primarily mineral precipitated texture, although detrital material is included sporadically. Furthermore, these modern microbialites exhibit both micritic and fibrous layering with high porosity. The novel use of 3D microtomography rotational scans has revealed that microbialites are extensively burrowed by metazoan activity and was also able to distinguish the occurrence and distribution of heavy minerals and detrital shell material in the samples. Some of the detrital grains appeared to be accidental/random inclusions, while in other cases the metazoan burrows provided space for the accumulation of sediment once abandoned. In both cases, sediment was incorporated as a product of intermittent accumulation, rather than systematic trapping and binding. The microfabric texture of South African microbialites is therefore a function of both biological (e.g. microbially mediated precipitation) and environmental (e.g. sporadic sediment deposition and inorganic cementation) influence. Overall, the findings presented here highlight the importance of these systems regarding microbialite formation, ichnology and taphonomy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…layered (stromatolite) and non-layered (thrombolite) varieties and are collectively referred to as 'tufa microbialites' (Rishworth et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metazoan activity facilitates passive sediment trapping in modern supratidal microbialites: Revealed using µ‐CT‐scanning and microscopy

et al. 2021

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“…The scarcity and low diversity of invertebrates (mainly bivalves), and the fenestral fabrics after evaporite minerals (likely anhydrite or gypsum) point to hypersalinity settings, likely related to enhanced evaporation under arid to semi‐arid conditions. Although the notion that infaunal metazoans and microbialites are mutually exclusive, it has been repeatedly criticized and that burrows have been documented in modern microbialite matrices (Rishworth et al 2019 and references therein), no evidence of bioturbation has been found in the stromatolites studied. The occurrence of desiccation cracks within microbial laminae suggests that periods of sub‐aerial exposure were common.…”

Section: Facies Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbialites and trace fossils from a Middle Triassic restricted carbonate ramp in the Catalan Basin, Spain: evaluating environmental and evolutionary controls in an epicontinental setting

Mercedes‐Martín¹,

Buatois

2021

LET

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The timing of recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction has been a matter of debate, with some authors favouring a more rapid faunal recovery during the Early Triassic and others considering a more protracted biotic reestablishment spanning until the Middle Triassic. In this work, we investigated the lowermost Middle Triassic (Ladinian) carbonate deposits in the Catalan Basin to evaluate the potential environmental mechanisms and evolutionary constrains involved in the kilometre-scale predominance of microbialites and the low-diversity and high-density Planolites association in a low-latitude epicontinental setting. The studied sedimentary succession records the development from a low-gradient, homoclinal microbial-dominated carbonate ramp evolving towards a slightly inclined swell-dominated type. Sedimentological analysis suggests that facies heterogeneity was controlled by pulses of syn-rift tectonic activity, which compromised Peri-Tethyan basin connectivity, reducing palaeobathymetry gradients. Although the monospecific nature of the studied trace-fossil association may reflect the delayed recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction, this is inconsistent with widespread, relatively high-diversity ichnofaunas in carbonates elsewhere in the region. Since other Ladinian basins were characterized by the recurrence of microbial carbonates, low-diversity ichnoassemblages and limited skeletal production, we hypothesize that shallow and restricted carbonate ramp settings harboured limited ecological complexity and widespread opportunistic colonization of the sediment when compared to coeval open marine locations. □ Carbonate sedimentology, end-Permian mass extinctions, ichnology, opportunistic colonization, post-extinction recovery, stressed environments.

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Thrombolites and ichnofossils in the Middle Cambrian of south North China Block: Implications for the environmental controls on the evolution of microbes and metazoans

et al. 2021

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Handling Editor: M. Luo Thrombolites and ichnofossils are well-preserved in a carbonate succession of the Cambrian (Miaolingian Series) Zhangxia Formation, south North China Block. This provides a chance to investigate the factors controlling the distributions of thrombolites and metazoans. Three types of thrombolites are identified, on the basis of clot shape and their array styles, namely, bushy, columnar, and blocky thrombolites. Bushy thrombolites occur in the lower part of the study unit, columnar thrombolites in the middle, and blocky thrombolites in the upper. Thrombolitic intervals alternate with bioturbated limestones, with the latter including two ichnogenera:

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Modern active microbialite-metazoan relationships in peritidal systems on the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa: Ecological significance and implication for the palaeontological record

Cited by 11 publications

References 47 publications

Metazoan activity facilitates passive sediment trapping in modern supratidal microbialites: Revealed using µ‐CT‐scanning and microscopy

Metazoan activity facilitates passive sediment trapping in modern supratidal microbialites: Revealed using µ‐CT‐scanning and microscopy

Microbialites and trace fossils from a Middle Triassic restricted carbonate ramp in the Catalan Basin, Spain: evaluating environmental and evolutionary controls in an epicontinental setting

Thrombolites and ichnofossils in the Middle Cambrian of south North China Block: Implications for the environmental controls on the evolution of microbes and metazoans

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