This session will showcase studies that use fossils to integrate stratigraphic and paleobiologic patterns and processes. The distribution of taxa in time and space is controlled not only by ecological and evolutionary processes (e.g., taxa environmental niches, extinctions/originations), but also by the sedimentary processes that govern where and when fossil-containing sediments are deposited and preserved. Stratigraphic, taphonomic, and ecologic attributes of fossil assemblages can be potentially useful for detecting biological trends and environmental shifts through time and space, correcting stratigraphic biases that affect the fossil record, or enhance stratigraphic interpretations.
In this session fossils from cores or outcrops, examined across various spatial and temporal scales, will be used to test the generality of patterns and drivers that have been reported in the literature and refine stratigraphic interpretation of sedimentary successions. The session will also highlight the utility of fossils for assessing responses of ecosystems to environmental changes, therefore providing a reference baseline for evaluating severity and significance of anthropogenic processes that threaten present-day ecosystems and their biodiversity.