In coastal settings, the cumulative spatial and temporal impacts of burrowing, ichnofabric formation, and biodeposition by large crustaceans have been largely neglected at zoogeomorphic scales. These traces also serve as important (paleo-)environmental and (paleo)hydrologic indicators, both vertical (tidal or groundwater level) and lateral (areal wetland or basin extent). To date, 354 only few studies have addressed the comparative value of decapod ichnites generated by land crabs in carbonate settings. The aim of this paper is to introduce a general conceptual framework for burrows created by three crab species in the Bahama Archipelago, using examples from San Salvador Island

Buynevich, Ilya Val

Curran, H. Allen

Kopcznski, Karen

Sparacio, Christopher

English

Smith College: Smith ScholarWorks

Smith ScholarWorks Geosciences: Faculty Publications Geosciences 2023 Neoichnological Framework of Coastal Habitat Shifts Represented by Bahamian Decapod Burrows Ilya Val Buynevich Temple University Karen Kopcznski Temple University Christopher Sparacio University of Connecticut - Storrs H. Allen Curran Smith College, acurran@smith.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/geo_facpubs  Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Buynevich, I.V., Kopcznski, K., Sparacio, C. A., and Curran, H.A., 2023. Neoichnological framework of coastal habitat shifts represented by Bahamian decapod burrows. Modern Research in World Science, Proceedings of the 12th International Scientific and Practical Conference. SPC Publishing, Lviv, Ukraine, 353-357. This Conference Proceeding has been accepted for inclusion in Geosciences: Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@smith.edu  353     ISBN 978-966-8219-86-3  Buynevich, I.V., Kopcznski, K., Sparacio, C. A., and Curran, H.A., 2023. Neoichnological framework of coastal habitat shifts represented by Bahamian decapod burrows. Modern Research in World Science, Proceedings of the 12th International Scientific and Practical Conference. SPC Publishing, Lviv, Ukraine, 353-357. 551.435.16  NEOICHNOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF COASTAL HABITAT SHIFTS        REPRESENTED BY BAHAMIAN DECAPOD BURROWS  Buynevich Ilya Val PhD, Associate Professor Kopcznski Karen MS, Adjunct Faculty Temple University, Philadelphia, USA Sparacio Christopher  PhD student University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA Curran H. Allen PhD, Professor Smith College, Northampton, USA   Introduction: In coastal settings, the cumulative spatial and temporal impacts of burrowing, ichnofabric formation, and biodeposition by large crustaceans have been largely neglected at zoogeomorphic scales [1]. These traces also serve as important (paleo-)environmental and (paleo)hydrologic indicators, both vertical (tidal or groundwater level) and lateral (areal wetland or basin extent)[2-6]. To date,  354  only few studies have addressed the comparative value of decapod ichnites generated by land crabs in carbonate settings [7,8]. The aim of this paper is to introduce a general conceptual framework for burrows created by three crab species in the Bahama Archipelago, using examples from San Salvador Island (Fig. 1).                       Figure 1. Study area location on San Salvador Island, Bahamas  (insets at top) and land crab habitats: A) Photographs of three decapod  species and their preferred biotopes in the Pigeon Creek area (see Fig. 1B  for species acronym key); B) Schematic cross-section showing habitats,  relative elevations, and general morphologies of decapod burrows. 8   Figure 4. A GoogleEarth image (A) that crosses the three adjacent decapod habitats, and (B) these habitats in idealized cross-sectional view, with general burrow shapes.         A B 7   Figure 3. Drone image of North Pigeon Creek study sites (C. guanhumi casting, burrow measurements and density counts, GPR profiles and 3D grids).         ocean bay groundwater Gecarcinus lateralis (black-back land crab) VEGETATED DUNES  Ocypode quadrata (ghost crab) BEACH / FOREDUNES  Cardisoma guanhumi  (blue land crab) MANGROVES / SUPRATIDAL   355  Methodology: This work is based on neoichnological observations and measurements, photography, georadar images, and burrow casting. Since 2013, building on decades of research [3-6], the main effort was focused on San Salvador Island (Fig. 1A), with additional sites on Little Exuma and Eleuthera Islands. Results and Summary: On most Bahamian Islands, three species of land crabs occupy distinct habitats: black-back land crab (Gecarcinus lateralis; Gl) prefers dunes, ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata; Oc) lives primarily along the beach, and the blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi; Cg) is closely connected with low-energy microtidal margins of lagoons and mangroves (Fig 1B). Recent research on San Salvador allowed detailed characterization of biotope boundaries represented by the respective biogenic structures, which increase in size from Gl to Oc to Cg, respectively. Applications of non-invasive remote sensing and subsurface imaging methods (e.g., georadar) aided in augmenting traditional field efforts that are often destructive in nature [8-10]. Assessment of burrow distribution and association (ichnocoenosis [5,6]) along insular habitats formed the basis for a simple conceptual model, with the three species as end members on a ternary diagram (Fig. 2). The benefit of such a framework is not only in its static comparative value, but also in a predictive “dynamic” context. For example, habitat shifts resulting from changes in water table, tidal inundation (e.g., related to sea-level changes), aeolian flux, or storm activity, can be all considered as forcings or perturbations leading to burrow overprinting. A recent intense storm (Hurricane Joaquin, 2015) provided sufficient sand on the upper beach for overtop deposition, with Ocypode quadrata invading the habitat otherwise dominated by Gecarcinus lateralis (Fig. 2; inset). Likewise, along low-energy margins, large supratidal burrow complexes of Cardisoma guanhumi may completely rework and mask the smaller burrows of other crustaceans, with a reverse trend predicting their move into intertidal habitats of Uca speciosa [3-8].   356                Figure 2. Conceptual model of three end-member habitats dominated by  decapods with specific traces. Arrows show observed (post-Hurricane Joaquin, 2015) and predicted biotope shifts. These trends aid in forecasting ichnite overprinting, such as Oq in a Gl setting (photo inset). See Figure 1 for preferred decapod habitat distribution.  Our study demonstrates the importance of pervasive zoogenic structures as integral components of (paleo)landscape studies. Such framework should be of use to paleoichnologists, geomorphologists, petroleum geologists (reservoir porosity/permeability), soil scientists (paleosols), and ecologists [4-6, 10-12]. Combined with other indicators, decapod traces have the potential to enhance pale-environmental reconstruction and the predictive value of habitat shifts. Future efforts will include neoichnological field experiments to refine the proposed framework.    72    Figure 39. A conceptual diagram of the thre  end-member decapod habitats. The arrows how both observed (post-Hurricane Joaquin, 2015) and predicted biotope shifts resulting from various external forcings. These trends help forecast the potential overprinting of bioturbation structures by adjacent tracemakers, e.g., Oq overprinting Gl following a storm (photo inset). The implications of our research predict an increase in attenuation (saline water) and signal scattering (subvertical Oq shafts) in an otherwise Gl-dominated target-rich lithosome.          357  REFERENCES  1. Butler, D.R., 1995. Zoogeomorphology – Animals as geomorphic agents. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 240 p.  2. Hasiotis, S. T. and Honey, J. 2000. Paleocene continental deposits and  crayfish burrows of the Laramide Basins in the Rocky Mountains:  Paleohydrologic and Stratigraphic significance. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 70, 127-139. 3. Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J., Seike, K. & Curran, H.A. 2014. Characteristics,  distribution patterns, and implications for ichnology of modern burrows of Uca (Leptuca) speciosa, San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 34, 565-572. 4. Seike, K. and Curran, H.A., 2014. Burrow morphology of the land crab  Gecarcinus lateralis and the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas: comparisons and palaeoenvironmental implications. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 29, 61-70. 5. Curran H.A., 2007. Ichnofacies, ichnocoenoses, and Ichnofabrics of  Quaternary shallow-marine to dunal tropical carbonates: a model and implications. In Miller (ed.), W. Trace Fossils: Concepts, Problems, Prospects, Elsevier, pp. 232-247.  6. Curran, H.A. and A. J. Martin, 2003, Complex decapod burrows and  ecological relationships in modern and Pleistocene intertidal carbonate environments, San Salvador Island, Bahamas: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 192, 229-245. 7. Sparacio, C.A., Buynevich, I.V., Curran, H.A., and Kopcznski, K.A.,  2020. Morphometry of blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) burrows: ichnological context and  paleoenvironmental implications. PALAIOS, 35, 461-469. 8. Kopcznski, K.A., Buynevich, I.V., Curran, H.A., Caris, J., and Nyquist,  J.E., 2017. Imaging bioturbation in supratidal carbonates: non-invasive field techniques enhance neoichnological and zoogeomorphological research, San Salvador, the Bahamas. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 56, 289-297. 9. Buynevich, I.V., Savarese, M., Curran, H.A., Bitinas, A., Glumac, B.,  Pupienis, D., Kopcznski, K.A., Dobrotin, N., Gnivecki, P.L., Park Boush, L.E., and Damušytė, A., 2017. Sand incursion into temperate (Lithuania) and tropical (the Bahamas) maritime vegetation:  georadar visualization of target-rich aeolian lithosomes. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, 195, 69-75. 10. Buynevich, I.V., Curran, H.A., Wiest, L.A., Bentley, A.P.K., Kadurin, S.V., Seminack, C.T., Savarese, M., Bustos, D., Glumac, B., and Losev, I.A., 2014. Near-surface imaging (GPR) of biogenic structures in siliciclastic, carbonate, and gypsum dunes. In Hembree, D.I., Platt, B.F., and Smith, J.J., (eds.), Experimental Approaches to Understanding Fossil Organisms: Lessons from the Living, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 405-418. 11. Hembree, D.I. 2016. Using experimental neoichnology and  quantitative analyses to improve the interpretation of continental trace fossils. Ichnos, 23, 262–297. 12. Zonneveld, J.P. 2016. Applications of experimental neoichnology to  paleo biological and evolutionary problems. PALAIOS, 31, 275–279.   

Neoichnological Framework of Coastal Habitat Shifts Represented by Bahamian Decapod Burrows

https://scholarworks.smith.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1179&context=geo_facpubs

Neoichnological Framework of Coastal Habitat Shifts Represented by Bahamian Decapod Burrows

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Smith College: Smith ScholarWorks