Fossil Ecosystems of North America: Introduction

For this second quiz you are required to know about the basics of Paleontology
(from one single webpage on the website and one single PowePoint (part 1)
and from the introduction to “Fossil Ecosystems of North America” (part 2)

I am presenting you with some sample questions for both parts. These questions should help you and guide you through the reading and are also supposed to provide an indication of what kind of information you need to acquire. Some of these questions were actually asked in past quizzes and exams and might show up again.

part 1

PALEONTOLOGY Webpage and PowerPoint

Paleontology

What is paleontology?
What are fossils?
What information do we get from fossils?
Is the fossil record complete? Why, or why not?
What do we mean by "a gap in the fossil record"?
What is taphonomy?

Macrofossils and microfossils

What is the difference between macrofossils and microfossils?
In what environments did these organisms live?
What are more common in the fossil record, macrofossils or microfossils? Why?
Which of the two categories has a higher chance or remaining intact over geologic time?

Preservation of Fossils

What parts of an organism tend to be preserved more easily?
Where do you find an organic matrix?
Why would anoxic conditions enhance preservation?
What is the effect of biological activity and of physical elements on the preservation of fossils?
What are the four most important inorganic materials produced by organisms that are important in the context of fossil preservation?
(answer: carbonates, phosphates, silicates, iron oxides)
What can you tell about organic compounds as material produced by an organisms?
Can the DNA molecule be preserved easily? Why, or why not?
In which ways can a fossil be preserved?
What is uniformitarianism?
What is taphonomy, and why is it important?
what is a pseudofossil?
Does the fossil record give us a complete picture of organisms that lived in the past?
Did the fossil record change over time?
Do most fossil come from land deposits, shallow marine deposits, or deep marine deposits? Why?

part 2

"FOSSIL ECOSYSTEMS OF NORTH AMERICA":

In this introduction, some basic concepts of paleontology are briefly outlined in order to introduce the definition and concept of a Lagerstätten, which is at the center of these readings. All the next chapters from "Fossil Ecosystems of North America will describe different kinds of Lagerstätten from the continent of North America.

For this quiz, read the whole Introduction, but study only pages 8 and 9. I will not ask questions after the first column of page 9 (that is, do not study beyond "evolution of ecosystems over geologic time, top of second column on page 9). You do not need to know the figure on page 10 either.

Introduction

Some exceptional conditions will allow for the preservation of soft tissues in a dead organism, or simply provide us with fossils where none is expected to be found. Can you think of some of these exceptional conditions?
What is a Fossil Lagerstätten
What is the difference between the two types of Lagerstätten, Concentration and Conservation Lagerstätten?
What is the difference between obrution and stagnation deposits?
What is taphonomy?
What is biostratinomy?
What is diagenesis?
What are the three important implications of soft tissue preservation? That is, what other information do we get, that we could not get from bones, or teeth, or shells alone?
(hints:
1. we can compare fossils with existing life forms
2. we have the preservation of species that would not have been fossilized otherwise (because they would have no hard parts)
3. in the case of Conservation Lagerstätten we have the preservation of complete ecosystems, and not just of one species)

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