Evolution of the Late Ordovician Plaesiomyid Brachiopod Lineage in Laurentia
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-19-2012 12:00 AM Evolution of the Late Ordovician Plaesiomyid Brachiopod Lineage in Laurentia Colin D. Sproat The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Jisuo Jin The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Rong-yu Li The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Geology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Colin D. Sproat 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Geology Commons, Paleobiology Commons, and the Paleontology Commons Recommended Citation Sproat, Colin D., "Evolution of the Late Ordovician Plaesiomyid Brachiopod Lineage in Laurentia" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 913. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/913 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EVOLUTION OF THE LATE ORDOVICIAN PLAESIOMYID BRACHIOPOD LINEAGE IN LAURENTIA (Spine title: LATE ORDOVICIAN PLAESIOMYID BRACHIOPOD LINEAGE IN LAURENTIA) Thesis format: Integrated Article by Colin Sproat Graduate Program in Geology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Colin Sproat, 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisors Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Jisuo Jin Cam Tsujita ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Rong-yu Li Stephen Hicock ______________________________ Renbin Zhan The thesis by Colin David Sproat entitled: Evolution of the Late Ordovician Plaesiomyid Brachiopod Lineage in Laurentia is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geology ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract During the Late Ordovician, a transgression flooded much of Laurentia. The fauna of these intracratonic basins became differentiated from the fauna of the pericratonic shelves and platforms, typically displaying gigantism and coarser shell ornamentation. In this study, 509 specimens from 11 species of the Plaesiomyidae brachiopod family from the Katian and Hirnantian were measured, of which 198 included in principal component analysis to quantify morphological changes over this interval. Three trends were revealed: 1) increasing globosity and dorsal convexity from the early to late Katian, 2) coarser, but fewer ribs on species from the paleoequatorial intracratonic seas compared to species from the mid- to high-tropical pericratonic shelves and platforms, and 3) enlargement of the cardinal process from early to late Katian and predominance of a trilobed cardinal process in the intracratonic species versus bilobed cardinal process in pericratonic species. Two new species were assigned, and two existing species were reassigned. Key Words: brachiopod, Plaesiomyidae, Late Ordovician, Katian, Hirnantian, evolution paleoecology, faunal gradient, paleobiogeography iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Jisuo Jin and Dr. Rong-yu Li, without whom I would not have been able to reach this point. Dr. Jin's support made the last two years much easier than they may have otherwise been. I always felt welcomed by stop by for a chat in his office, whether it was paleontology related or not. His professional guidance and personal support are appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future. Dr. Li may not have been as readily available, but was always only an email away, and the coffee and lunches while I was back in Brandon were always appreciated. Secondly, I would like to thank all my friends I have met here in London. As someone coming from another province, I appreciated being welcomed into the department by so many kind and considerate people. Even when things were getting tough, I could always count on the support of the many friends surrounding me. A special thanks to my roommate Emrah Yenier, not only for moral support, but also for his valuable skills with spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel. Thirdly, even though they were a province away, I would not have made it through this experience without the support of all my friends from back home in Manitoba. I may not have been able to see them everyday, but when we did get together they made it count. I always enjoyed their messages of support and even simple casual conversations. Last, but certainly not least, I thank my family. Although they didn't always understand why I was still in school after all these years, they always supported me in my decisions, and were a constant source of encouragement, and for that I will never be able to thank them enough. This research was funded by a grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council to Dr. Jisuo Jin. I am grateful to Ed Dobrzanski for acting as our field guide in Manitoba. Paul Mayer of the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, kindly provided the specimens from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana tri-state area. Michelle Coyne of the Geological Survey of Canada kindly provided the Plaesiomys browni type specimens for examination. iv Table of Contents Title ……………………………………………………………………………………………… i Certificate of Examination ……………………………………………………………………. ii Abstract and Keywords ……………………………………………………………………….. iii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………..... iv List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………….….. ix List of Figures …………………………………………………………...……………………... x Chapter 1 – Introduction …………………………………………………………………….… 1 1.1 – Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………...… 1 1.2 – The Great Biodiversification Event ……………………………………………………….. 2 1.2.1 – Environmental Contributors …………………………………………………...… 7 1.2.1.1 – Tectonic activity ............................................ .................... 7 1.2.1.2 – Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels ................................ 8 1.2.1.3 – High sea level ......................................................... .......... 8 1.2.1.4 – Phytoplankton blooms ................................................... ..... 10 1.2.1.5 – Calcite seas ................................................................... .. 11 1.2.1.6 – Superplume? ............................................................... .... 13 1.2.2 – Changes in biodiversity ………………………………………………………… 14 1.2.2.1 – The Cambrian fauna ................................................... ....... 14 1.2.2..2 – The Paleozoic fauna .......................................................... 15 1.2.2.3 – The Modern fauna ......................................................... ... 18 1.2.3 – Radiation of articulate brachiopods ………………………………………….… 18 1.2.3.1 – Strophomenata ................................................................ 19 1.2.3.2. – Rhynchonellata ........................................................... .... 21 1.2.3.3 – α, β, and γ brachiopod diversity ............................................................ 21 1.2.3.4 – Brachiopod faunal diversity in Laurentia .................................. 22 1.2.4 – Summary …………………………………………………………………….…. 23 1.3 – Terminal Ordovician mass extinction ……………………………………………………. 24 1.3.1 – Glacial trigger …………………………………………………………….….… 25 1.3.1.1 – Productivity hypothesis ...................................................... 26 v 1.3.1.2 – Weathering hypothesis ....................................................... 27 1.3.1.3 – Carbonate deposition and weathering hypothesis ........................ 28 1.3.1.4 – Volcanism hypothesis ...................................................... .. 28 1.3.1.5 – Discussion ............................................................... ...... 29 1.3.2 – Changes in diversity ………………………………………………………….… 30 1.3.3 – Change in articulate brachiopod diversity and faunas …………………………. 34 1.3.3.1 – Survival faunas ................................................................ 33 1.4 – Ordovician Paleogeography ……………………………………………………………… 34 1.4.1 – Baltica ………………………………………………………………………….. 34 1.4.2 – Siberia ………………………………………………………………………..… 36 1.4.3 – Gondwana ……………………………………………………………………… 36 1.4.4 – Oceans and sea level …………………………………………………………… 36 1.4.5 – Laurentia ……………………………………………………………………….. 37 1.4.5.1 – Sea level and Laurentia ................................................... ... 40 1.4.5.2 – Taconic orogeny ............................................................... 40 1.5 – Objectives of Current Research and Rationale for the Project ………………………...… 41 References ……………………………………………………………………………………… 44 Chapter 2 – Geological and Stratigraphic Setting ................................................. 58 2.1 – Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………. 58 2.2 – Lake Simcoe area, Ontario ……………………………………………………………..… 58 2.2.1 – Simcoe Group ………………………………………………………………….. 58 2.2.1.1 – Shadow Lake Formation ..................................................... 60 2.2.1.2 – Gull River Formation ......................................................... 60 2.2.1.3 – Bobcaygeon Formation .................................................... ... 61 2.2.1.4 – Verulam Formation