Palaeoecological Analysis of the Decline in Stromatolite Abundance during the Ordovician Period
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: A stromatolite is a laminated benthic microbial deposit. Its uniqueness arises from being present since the Precambrian to the present. Stromatolites recorded a peak time during the Mesoproterozoic, subsequently they witnessed abrupt rises and falls in abundance with the steepest decline in the Ordovician period, from which it never recovered from. There is no consensus yet regarding the reasons behind the decline of stromatolites. Thus the decline of these microbial deposits remains an enigma. Additionally, a literature gap exists regarding the reasons that specifically led to the Ordovician decline. Accordingly, the focus of this literature-based MSc. thesis is to find the reasons that led to the stromatolites decline in the Ordovician - using abiotic and biotic palaeoecological tools - an approach that has not been implemented before in the study of stromatolites. The conclusions are that abiotic factors such as calcium carbonate ocean saturation were likely responsible for much of the decline. However, present-day distributions in harsh environments and negative relationships between stromatolites and metazoan radiations indicate a role for biotic factors.
Author: Noran Mhm El-Sherif
Institution: Wright State University
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2530002381