Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T02:22:57.889Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Significance of the trace fossil Zoophycos in Pliocene deposits, Antarctic continental margin (ANDRILL 1B drill core)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Molly F. Miller ,
Ellen A. Cowan  and
Simon H.H. Nielsen
Molly F. Miller*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Ellen A. Cowan
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA
Simon H.H. Nielsen
Affiliation:
Antarctic Research Facility, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-4100, USA
*
*[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Zoophycos is a complex three dimensional trace fossil that is abundant in deep ocean sediments worldwide, but has not been described previously from Cenozoic continental margin deposits of Antarctica. In the ANDRILL 1B core drilled through the north-west McMurdo ice shelf, Zoophycos occurs in a 17 m thick unit of interglacial sediments bounded above and below by glacial surfaces of erosion. This unit was deposited during the transition from the relatively warm Early Pliocene characterized by productive open waters to the cooler Late Pliocene with fluctuating subpolar ice sheets. Globally, Late Cenozoic Zoophycos are most abundant at great depths (> 1000 m), and where sedimentation rates and TOC levels are low; the Zoophycos producer, probably a worm-like animal, was (is) a slow colonizer. Application of these preferences to the ANDRILL 1B core indicates that the Zoophycos-bearing unit was deposited episodically, with sufficient time between events to allow for the slow processes of colonization and construction. The foray of Zoophycos producer into the relatively shallow ANDRILL 1B depths (200–1000 m) during the Pliocene documents “emergence” of benthic animals, supporting suggestions that the unique modern Antarctic and Southern Ocean faunas result from both “emergence” and “submergence” during the Cenozoic.

Keywords

biogenic structurescontinental shelfMcMurdo Soundmodern fauna
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 21 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 609 - 618
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alpert, S.P. 1977. Trace fossils and the basal Cambrian boundary. In Crimes, T.P. & Harper, J.C., eds. Trace fossils 2. Geological Journal Special Issue, 9, 1–8.Google Scholar
Anderson, J.B. 1999. Antarctic marine geology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 289 pp.Google Scholar
Aronson, R.B.Blake, D.B. 2001. Global climate change and the origin of modern benthic communities in Antarctica. American Zoologist, 41, 27–39.Google Scholar
Barker, P.E., Kennett, J.P., et al. 1988. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports, 113, 785 pp.Google Scholar
Barker, P.F., Camerlenghi, A., Acton, G.D., et al. 1999. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Project, Initial Reports, 178. www.odp.tamu.edu/publications/178_IR/178TOC.HTMCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barron, J., Larsen, B., et al. 1989. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports, 119, 10.2973/odp.proc.ir.119.1989.Google Scholar
Blom, W.M. 1984. Stratigraphy and sedimentology of Tokomaru Formation (Late Miocene–Early Pliocene), eastern Raukumara Peninsula, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 27, 125–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowser, S.S., Bernhard, J.M., Habuäära, A.Gooday, A.J. 2002. Structure, taxonomy and ecology of Astrammina triangularis (Earland), an allogromiid-like foraminifer from Explorers Cove, Antarctica. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 32, 364–374.Google Scholar
Brandt, A. 2005. Evolution of Antarctic biodiversity in the context of the past: the importance of the Southern Ocean deep sea. Antarctic Science, 17, 509–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandt, A., Gooday, A.J., Brandao, S.N., Brix, S., Broekeland, W., Cedhagen, T., Choudhury, M., Cornelius, N., Danis, B., De Mesel, I., Diaz, R.J., Gillan, D.C., Ebbe, B., Howe, J.A., Janussen, D., Kaiser, S., Linse, K., Malyutina, M., Pawlowski, J., Raupach, M.Vanreusel, A. 2007. First insights into biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea. Nature, 447, 307–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brey, T., Dahm, C., Gorny, M., Klages, M., Stiller, M.Arntz, W.E. 1996. Do Antarctic benthic invertebrates show an extended level of eurybathy? Antarctic Science, 8, 3–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromley, R.G. 1991. Zoophycos: strip mine, refuse dump, cache or sewage farm? Lethaia, 24, 460–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromley, R.G.Hanken, N.-M. 2003. Structure and function of large, lobed Zoophycos, Pliocene of Rhodes, Greece. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 192, 79–100.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, C.K. 1971. Morphology and ethology of trace fossils from the Ouchhita Mountains, southeastern Oklahoma. Journal of Paleontology, 45, 212–246.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, C.K. 1975. Trace fossils in DSDP cores of the Pacific. Journal of Paleontology, 49, 1074–1096.Google Scholar
Clarke, A. 1990. Temperature and evolution: Southern Ocean cooling and the Antarctic marine fauna. In Kerry, K.R. & Hempel, G., eds. Antarctic ecosystems: ecological change and conservation. Berlin: Springer, 9–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, A.Johnston, N.M. 2003. Antarctic marine benthic diversity. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 41, 47–114.Google Scholar
Clarke, A., Aronson, R.B., Crame, J.A., Gili, J.-M.Blake, D.B. 2004. Evolution and diversity of the benthic fauna of the Southern Ocean continental shelf. Antarctic Science, 16, 559–568.Google Scholar
Crame, J.A. 1997. An evolutionary framework for the Polar Regions. Journal of Biogeography, 24, 1–9.Google Scholar
DeMaster, D.J., Ragueneau, O.Nittrouer, C.A. 1996. Preservation efficiencies and accumulation rates for biogenic silica and organic C, N, and P in high-latitude sediments: the Ross Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 18 501–18 518.Google Scholar
Domack, E.W., Jacobsen, E.A., Shipp, S.Anderson, J.B. 1999. Late Pleistocene–Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic ice-sheet system in the Ross Sea: Part 2. Sedimentologic and stratigraphic signature. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111, 1517–1536.Google Scholar
Domack, E.W., O’Brien, P., Harris, P., Taylor, F., Quilty, P.G., De Santis, L.Raker, B. 1998. Late Quaternary sediment facies in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica and their relationship to glacial advance onto the continental shelf. Antarctic Science, 10, 236–246.Google Scholar
Doubleday, P.A., MacDonald, D.Nell, P.A.R. 1993. Sedimentology and structure of the trench-slope to forearc basin transition in the Mesozoic of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Geological Magazine, 130, 737–754.Google Scholar
Droser, M.L.Bottjer, D.J. 1991. Trace fossils and ichnofabrics in Leg 119 cores. In Barron, J.A., et al. eds. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 119, Scientific Results, 119, 635–641.Google Scholar
Dunbar, R.B., Leventer, A.R.Stockton, W.L. 1989. Sedimentation in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Marine Geology, 85, 155–179.Google Scholar
Ekdale, A.A. 1977. Abyssal trace fossils in worldwide Deep Sea Drilling Project cores. In Crimes, T.P. & Harper, J.C., eds. Trace fossils 2. Geological Journal Special Issue, 9, 163–182.Google Scholar
Ekdale, A.A. 1992. Muckraking and mudslinging: the joys of deposit feeding. In Maples, C.G. & West, R.C., eds. Trace fossils. Paleontological Society Short Course, no. 5, 163–182.Google Scholar
Ekdale, A.A.Berger, W.H. 1978. Deep-sea ichnofacies: modern organism traces on and in pelagic carbonates of the western equatorial Pacific. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 23, 263–278.Google Scholar
Ekdale, A.A.Lewis, D.W. 1991. The New Zealand Zoophycos revisited: morphology, ethology, and paleoecology. Ichnos, 1, 183–194.Google Scholar
Falconer, T., Pyne, A., Levy, R., Olney, M. & ANDRILL-MIS Science Team. 2007. Operations overview for the ANDRILL McMurdo ice shelf project, Antarctica. Terra Antarctica, 14, 131–140.Google Scholar
Fielding, C., Naish, T., Woolfe, K.Lavelle, M. 2000. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy of CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antarctica, 7, 323–338.Google Scholar
Fu, S.Werner, F. 1994. Distribution and composition of biogenic structures on the Iceland–Faeroe Ridge: relation to different environments. Palaios, 9, 92–101.Google Scholar
Gili, J.-M., Arntz, W.E., Palanques, A., Orejas, C., Clarke, A., Dayton, P.E., Isla, E., Teixidó, N., Rossi, S.Lopez-González, P.J. 2006. A unique assemblage of epibenthic sessile suspension feeders with archaic features in the high-Antarctic. Deep-Sea Research II, 53, 1029–1052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutt, J. 2001. On the direct impact of ice on marine benthic communities, a review. Polar Biology, 24, 553–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Häntzschel, W. 1975. Trace fossils and problematica. In Teichert, C., ed. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part W, Miscellanea, Supplement 1. Lawrence, KS: Geological Society of America and University of Kansas Press, 269 pp.Google Scholar
Hayes, D.E., Frakes, L.A. & Shipboard Scientific Party. 1975. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 28, 1017 pp.Google Scholar
Hollister, C.D., Craddock, C., et al. 1976. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 35. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 930 pp.Google Scholar
Jumars, P.A., Mayer, L.M., Deming, J.W., Baross, J.A.Wheatcroft, R.A. 1990. Deep-sea deposit feeding strategies suggested by environmental and feeding constraints. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, A331, 85–101.Google Scholar
Kotake, N. 1989. Paleoecology of the Zoophycos producers. Lethaia, 22, 327–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotake, N. 1992. Deep sea echiurans: possible producers of Zoophycos. Lethaia, 25, 311–316.Google Scholar
Krissek, L., Brown, G., Carter, L., Cowan, E., Dunbar, G., McKay, R., Naish, T., Powell, R.Reed, J. 2007. Sedimentology and stratigraphy of AND-1B Core, ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project, Antarctica. Terra Antarctica, 14, 185–222.Google Scholar
Leuschner, D.C., Sirocko, F., Grootes, P.M.Erlenkeuser, H. 2002. Possible influence of Zoophycos bioturbation on radiocarbon dating and environmental interpretation. Marine Micropaleontology, 46, 111–126.Google Scholar
Lipps, J.H.Hickman, C.S. 1982. Origin, age, and evolution of Antarctic and deep-sea faunas. In Ernst, W.G. & Morin, J.G., eds. The environment of the deep sea. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 325–356.Google Scholar
Locklair, R.E.Savrda, C.E. 1998. Ichnology of rhythmically bedded Demopolis chalk (Upper Cretaceous, Alabama): implications for paleoenvironment, depositional cycle origins, and tracemaker behavior. Palaios, 13, 423–438.Google Scholar
Löwemark, L.Schäfer, P. 2003. Ethological implications from a detailed X-ray radiograph and 14C study of the modern deep-sea Zoophycos. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 192, 101–121.Google Scholar
Löwemark, L., Lin, H.-L.Sarnthein, M. 2006. Temporal variations of the trace fossil Zoophycos in a 425 ka long sediment record from the South China Sea: implications for the ethology of the Zoophycos producer. Geological Magazine, 143, 105–114.Google Scholar
Manley, R.Lewis, D.W. 1998. Ichnocoenoses of the Mount Messenger Formation, a Miocene submarine fan system, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 41, 15–33.Google Scholar
Miller, M.F. 1991. Morphology and distribution of Paleozoic Spirophyton and Zoophycos: implications for the Zoophycos ichnofacies. Palaios, 6, 410–425.Google Scholar
Miller, W. IIID’Alberto, L. 2001. Paleoethologic implications of Zoophycos from Late Cretaceous and Paleocene limestones of the Venetian prealps, northeastern Italy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 166, 237–247.Google Scholar
Naish, T., Powell, R.D., Barrett, P.J., Levy, R.H., et al. 2007. Cenozoic climate history of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: culmination of three decades of Antarctic margin drilling. In Cooper, A.K., ed. Antarctica: a keystone in a changing world. USGS Open-File Report 1007–1047, 71–82.Google Scholar
Olivero, D. 2003. Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous evolution of Zoophycos in the French subalpine basin (southeastern France). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 192, 59–78.Google Scholar
Olivero, D.Gaillard, C. 2007. A constructional model for Zoophycos. In Miller III, W., ed. Trace fossils concepts, problems, prospects. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 466–477.Google Scholar
Osgood, R.G. JrSzmuc, E. 1972. The trace fossil Zoophycos as an indicator of water depth. Bulletin of American Paleontology, 62, 1–22.Google Scholar
Pervesler, P.Uchman, A. 2004. Ichnofossils from the type area of the Grund Formation (Miocene, Lower Badenian) in northern lower Austria. Geologica Carpathica, 55, 103–110.Google Scholar
Piper, D.J.W.Brisco, C.B. 1975. Deep water continental margin sedimentation, DSDP Leg 28 Antarctica. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 28, 727–755.Google Scholar
Pudsey, C.J., Barker, P.F.Hamilton, N. 1988. Weddell Sea abyssal sediments: a record of Antarctic bottom water flow. Marine Geology, 81, 289–314.Google Scholar
Shipp, S., Anderson, J.B.Domack, E.W. 1999. Late Pleistocene–Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic ice-sheet system in the Ross Sea: Part 1. Geophysical results. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111, 1486–1516.Google Scholar
Seilacher, A. 1967. Bathymetry of trace fossils. Marine Geology, 5, 413–428.Google Scholar
Siegert, M.J., Barrett, P.J., DeConto, R., Dunbar, R., Cofaigh, C.O., Passchier, S.Naish, T. 2008. Recent advances in understanding Antarctic climate evolution. Antarctic Science, 20, 313–325.Google Scholar
Simpson, S. 1970. Notes on Zoophycos and Spirophyton. In Crimes, T.P. & Harper, J.C., eds. Trace fossils. Geological Journal Special Issue, 3, 475–497.Google Scholar
Smith, C.R., Mincks, S.DeMaster, D.J. 2006. A synthesis of bentho-pelagic coupling on the Antarctic shelf: food banks, ecosystem inertia and global climate change. Deep-Sea Research II, 53, 875–894.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stilwell, J.D.Zinsmeister, W.J. 1992. Molluscan systematics and biostratigraphy, Lower Tertiary La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Research Series, 55, 1–192.Google Scholar
Stilwell, J.D.Zinsmeister, W.J. 2000. Paleobiogeographic synthesis of the Eocene macrofauna from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 76, 365–372.Google Scholar
Stow, D.A.V.Tabrez, A.R. 1998. Hemipelagites: processes, facies and model. In Stoker, M.S. & Evans, D., eds. Geologic processes of continental margins: sedimentation, mass wasting and stability. Geological Society Special Publication, 29, 317–337. .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taviani, M., Reid, D.F.Anderson, J.B. 1993. Skeletal and isotopic composition and paleoclimatic significance of Late Pleistocene carbonates, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 63, 84–90.Google Scholar
Taylor, B.J. 1967. Trace fossils from the Fossil Bluff Series of Alexander Island. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, no. 13, 1–30.Google Scholar
Uchman, A.Demírcan, H. 1999. A Zoophycos group trace fossil from Miocene flysch in southern Turkey: evidence for a U-shaped causative burrow. Ichnos, 6, 251–259.Google Scholar
Wetzel, A. 1984. Bioturbation in deep-sea fine-grained sediments: influence of sediment texture, turidite frequency and rates of environmental change. In Stow, D.A.V. & Piper, D.J.W., eds. Fine grained sediments: deep water processes and facies. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 595–608.Google Scholar
Wetzel, A.Werner, F. 1981. Morphology and ecological significance of Zoophycos in deep-sea sediments off NW Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 32, 185–212.Google Scholar
Whitehead, J.M.Bohaty, S.M. 2003. Pliocene summer sea surface temperature reconstruction using silicoflagellates from Southern Ocean OCP Site 1165. Paleoceanography, 18, 1–11.Google Scholar