Timing of post-glacial reinhabitation and ecological development of two New England, USA, drainages based on trace fossil evidence

Benner, Jacob S.; Ridge, John C.; Knecht, Richard J.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.10.029

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Teleost trace fossils have certainly contributed to paleoecological interpretations in other studies of ancient lacustrine deposits [32], [33]. Consequently, we hope the results of our study will prompt a similar expansion of paleoecological insights relating to Green River strata in and around Fossil Butte National Monument.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

First Known Feeding Trace of the Eocene Bottom-Dwelling Fish Notogoneus osculus and Its Paleontological Significance

2010

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BackgroundThe Green River Formation (early Eocene, about 42–53 Ma) at and near Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, USA, is world famous for its exquisitely preserved freshwater teleost fish in the former Fossil Lake. Nonetheless, trace fossils attributed to fish interacting with the lake bottom are apparently rare, and have not been associated directly with any fish species. Here we interpret the first known feeding and swimming trace fossil of the teleost Notogoneus osculus Cope (Teleostei: Gonorynchidae), which is also represented as a body fossil in the same stratum.Methodology/Principal FindingsA standard description of the trace fossil, identified as Undichna cf. U. simplicatas, was augmented by high-resolution digital images and spatial and mathematical analyses, which allowed for detailed interpretations of the anatomy, swimming mode, feeding behavior, and body size of the tracemaker. Our analysis indicates that the tracemaker was about 45 cm long; used its caudal, anal, and pelvic fins (the posterior half of its body) to make the swimming traces; and used a ventrally oriented mouth to make overlapping feeding marks. We hypothesize that the tracemaker was an adult Notogoneus osculus.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results are the first to link a specific teleost tracemaker with a trace fossil from the Green River Formation, while also interpreting the size and relative age of the tracemaker. The normal feeding and swimming behaviors indicated by the trace fossil indicate temporarily oxygenated benthic conditions in the deepest part of Fossil Lake, counter to most paleoecological interpretations of this deposit. Lastly, our spatial and mathematical analyses significantly update and advance previous approaches to the study of teleost trace fossils.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

First Known Feeding Trace of the Eocene Bottom-Dwelling Fish Notogoneus osculus and Its Paleontological Significance

2010

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“…Nonetheless, there may still have been an ecosystem within and around GLN. Pioneering fish species were living in similar conditions at the north end of Lake Hitchcock in the Connecticut River Valley by ∼13k cal a BP (Benner et al ., 2009), so it is possible that fish were present in GLN if a suitable upslope migration route existed. Detectable values of LOI and elevated values of C:N in Zone 2 also indicate that vegetation was becoming established in the NB during this interval.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lacustrine records of post‐glacial environmental change from the Nulhegan Basin, Vermont, USA

Munroe

2012

J Quaternary Science

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The sedimentary records of Nulhegan Pond and Beecher Pond in the Nulhegan Basin of north-eastern Vermont were analyzed to yield a history of environmental change since the latest Pleistocene. Shoreline landforms indicate that part of the Nulhegan Basin was inundated by Glacial Lake Nulhegan (GLN), which was impounded behind a dam of glacial sediment. Outwash derived from stagnant ice forms the bottom 176 cm of the Nulhegan Pond core. Fine-grained inorganic sediment deposited between 13.4 and 12.2k cal a BP is interpreted as a deep-water facies representing GLN, while coarser sediment from 12.2 to 11.8k cal a BP records draining of the glacial lake. Rapid, simultaneous increases in organic matter and biogenic silica signal the onset of productivity following the Younger Dryas. Beecher Pond formed c. 11.3k cal a BP through surface collapse over a buried ice block; buried stagnant ice may have persisted in the vicinity of the pond into the early Holocene. From 8.9 to 5.5k cal a BP, sediment in both lakes became coarser and richer in aquatic organic matter, suggesting a low-water phase in which previously deposited lacustrine sediments were reworked and the littoral zone shifted basinward. Low water levels at this time are consistent with other records from Maine and southern Quebec, but contrary to records from $325 km to the south.The boundary between Zones 3 and 4 corresponds to the onset of gyttja deposition in Nulhegan Pond. This shift in the style of sedimentation, combined with rapid increases in LOI and bSi, indicates that the aquatic environment became markedly more productive following the higher-energy event recorded

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“…However, other stressful conditions can be invoked, such as turbidity of water or strong oligotrophy (see Benner et al 2009). Therefore, it is suggested that the ecological conditions in the lake, in which the investigated clays were deposited, were less stressful than in many other Quaternary proglacial lakes in Europe characterised by the Cochlichnus ichnocoenosis (see Uchman et al 2009 for review).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This trace fossil is common in Quaternary varved clays in eastern North America (Benner et al 2009), but seldom identified in Europe. It is seen in pl.…”

Section: ?Undichna Ispmentioning

confidence: 97%

Trace fossils in Quaternary glacial varved clays near Uppsala, Sweden

Uchman

Kumpulainen

2011

GFF

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Trace fossils Broomichnium cf. fliri, Glaciichnium cf. liebegastensis, Planolites isp., ?Undichna isp. and ?Warvichnium ulbrichi have been recognised in early Holocene glacial varved clays near Vittinge, west of Uppsala, Sweden. They are referred to different arthropods and fishes that periodically colonised the lake floor and were important components of the ecosystem. The trace fossils are typical of the Glaciichnium ichnocoenosis within the Mermia ichnofacies, which suggests less stressful conditions in Vittinge than in many other Quaternary varved clays in Europe typified by the Cochlichnus ichnocoenosis.

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Timing of post-glacial reinhabitation and ecological development of two New England, USA, drainages based on trace fossil evidence

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

First Known Feeding Trace of the Eocene Bottom-Dwelling Fish Notogoneus osculus and Its Paleontological Significance

First Known Feeding Trace of the Eocene Bottom-Dwelling Fish Notogoneus osculus and Its Paleontological Significance

Lacustrine records of post‐glacial environmental change from the Nulhegan Basin, Vermont, USA

Trace fossils in Quaternary glacial varved clays near Uppsala, Sweden

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