The other biodiversity record: Innovations in animal-substrate interactions through geologic time Luis A. Buatois, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2, Canada, luis.
[email protected]; and M. Gabriela Mángano, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2, Canada,
[email protected] ABSTRACT 1979; Bambach, 1977; Sepkoski, 1978, 1979, and Droser, 2004; Mángano and Buatois, Tracking biodiversity changes based on 1984, 1997). However, this has been marked 2014; Buatois et al., 2016a), rather than on body fossils through geologic time became by controversies regarding the nature of the whole Phanerozoic. In this study we diversity trajectories and their potential one of the main objectives of paleontology tackle this issue based on a systematic and biases (e.g., Sepkoski et al., 1981; Alroy, in the 1980s. Trace fossils represent an alter- global compilation of trace-fossil data 2010; Crampton et al., 2003; Holland, 2010; native record to evaluate secular changes in in the stratigraphic record. We show that Bush and Bambach, 2015). In these studies, diversity. A quantitative ichnologic analysis, quantitative ichnologic analysis indicates diversity has been invariably assessed based based on a comprehensive and global data that the three main marine evolutionary on body fossils. set, has been undertaken in order to evaluate radiations inferred from body fossils, namely Trace fossils represent an alternative temporal trends in diversity of bioturbation the Cambrian Explosion, Great Ordovician record to assess secular changes in bio- and bioerosion structures. The results of this Biodiversification Event, and Mesozoic diversity. Trace-fossil data were given less study indicate that the three main marine Marine Revolution, are also expressed in the attention and were considered briefly in evolutionary radiations (Cambrian Explo- trace-fossil record.