Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-2012 Faunal Distribution and Relative Abundance in a Silurian (Wenlock) Pinnacle Reef Complex - Ray Reef, Macomb County, Michigan Jennifer L. Trout Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Trout, Jennifer L., "Faunal Distribution and Relative Abundance in a Silurian (Wenlock) Pinnacle Reef Complex - Ray Reef, Macomb County, Michigan" (2012). Master's Theses. 110. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/110 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. FAUNAL DISTRIBUTION AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCE IN A SILURIAN (WENLOCK) PINNACLE REEF COMPLEX - RAY REEF, MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN Jennifer L. Trout, M.S. Western Michigan University, 2012 Niagaran (Silurian) reefs are important sources of hydrocarbons in the Michigan Basin. In addition, some of these reservoirs have been used for gas storage and may be potential CO2 sequestration sites. Despite extensive research on Niagaran reefs, most studies concerning faunal abundance and distribution have been qualitative studies conducted by paleontologists with an emphasis on taxonomy, paleoecology, and evolution. This study is the first quantitative study of relative abundance and general distribution of fauna throughout a single Wenlock reef located in the southern trend of the Michigan Basin. This study will build on previous work done by WMU students and will utilize their data (e.g.