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| Titel |
Beyond the bucket: testing the effect of experimental design on rate and
sequence of decay |
| VerfasserIn |
Sarah Gabbott, Duncan Murdock, Mark Purnell |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2016
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 18 (2016) |
| Datensatznummer |
250134457
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2016-15186.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Experimental decay has revealed the potential for profound biases in our interpretations of
exceptionally preserved fossils, with non-random sequences of character loss distorting the
position of fossil taxa in phylogenetic trees. By characterising these sequences we can
rewind this distortion and make better-informed interpretations of the affinity of
enigmatic fossil taxa. Equally, rate of character loss is crucial for estimating the
preservation potential of phylogentically informative characters, and revealing the
mechanisms of preservation themselves. However, experimental decay has been criticised
for poorly modeling ‘real’ conditions, and dismissed as unsophisticated ‘bucket
science’. Here we test the effect of a differing experimental parameters on the rate
and sequence of decay. By doing so, we can test the assumption that the results
of decay experiments are applicable to informing interpretations of exceptionally
preserved fossils from diverse preservational settings. The results of our experiments
demonstrate the validity of using the sequence of character loss as a phylogenetic tool, and
sheds light on the extent to which environment must be considered before making
decay-informed interpretations, or reconstructing taphonomic pathways. With careful
consideration of experimental design, driven by testable hypotheses, decay experiments are
robust and informative – experimental taphonomy needn’t kick the bucket just yet. |
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