Stratigraphic paleobiology is a branch of

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

that is closely related to

paleobiology Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. Paleobiology is not to be confused with geobiology, which focuses more on the interactio ...

sequence stratigraphy Sequence stratigraphy is a branch of geology, specifically a branch of stratigraphy, that attempts to discern and understand historic geology through time by subdividing and linking sedimentary deposits into unconformity bounded units on a variety ...

and

sedimentology Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of mo ...

. Stratigraphic paleobiology studies how the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

is altered by sedimentological processes and how this affects

biostratigraphy Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock Stratum, strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. “Biostratigraphy.” ''Oxford Reference: Dictiona ...

and paleobiological interpretations of the fossil record.

Topic and key concepts

Patzkowsky and Holland (2012) define stratigraphic paleobiology as follows: " tratigraphic paleobiologyis built on the premise that the distribution of fossil taxa in time and space is controlled not only by processes of evolution, ecology, and environmental change, but also by the stratigraphic processes that govern where and when sediment that might contain fossils is deposited and preserved. Teasing apart the effects of these two suites of processes to understand the history of life on Earth is the essence of stratigraphic paleobiology." Large parts of stratigraphic paleobiology rely on

. This is since within a sequence, many parameters such as depositional conditions, (non)preservation, and

facies In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formatio ...

change deterministically. This sequence stratigraphic background alone, without any changes in ecology or any evolutionary processes, creates a baseline of constant change in the number of fossils and taxa that are preserved. One example for this are

maximum flooding surface In sequence stratigraphy Sequence stratigraphy is a branch of geology, specifically a branch of stratigraphy, that attempts to discern and understand historic geology through time by subdividing and linking sedimentary deposits into unconformity bo ...

s, which commonly display large accumulations of shells and an increased number of first fossil occurrences and last fossil occurrences. This is however not necessary linked to any change in ecology or an extinction event, but can be generated by the low deposition rates during the maximum flooding surface alone.

References

{{cite journal , last1=Scarponi , first1=Daniele , last2=Angeletti , first2=Lorenzo , year=2008 , title= Integration of palaeontological patterns in the sequence stratigraphy paradigm: a case study from Holocene deposits of the Po Plain (Italy) , journal= GeoActa Paleobiology Stratigraphy

Topic and key concepts

See also

References