PA L E O E C O L O G Y

PALEOECOLOGY
Past, Present, and Future

DAVID J. BOTTJER

Thi edition firs published 2016 2016 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Registered office: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex,
PO19 8SQ, UK
Editorial offices: 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK
Th Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, USA
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the
copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.
The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are oft n claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names
used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not
associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author(s) have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they
make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specific lly
disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher
is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If
professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bottjer, David J.
Paleoecology : past, present, and future / David J. Bottjer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-45586-9 (cloth)ISBN 978-1-118-45584-5 (pbk.) 1. Paleoecology. 2. Ecology. 3. Global environmental change. I. Title.
QE720.B66 2016
560 .45dc23
2015034607
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic
books.
Cover image should be Aneese/istockphoto
Set in 10/12pt MinionPro by SPi Global Private Limited, Chennai, India
1

2016

Contents
Preface

vii

Overview

Deep time and actualism in paleoecological reconstruction

10

Ecology, paleoecology, and evolutionary paleoecology

17

Taphonomy

33

Bioturbation and trace fossils

52

Microbial structures

64

Across the great divide: Precambrian to Phanerozoic paleoecology

76

Phanerozoic level-bottom marine environments

95

Reefs, shell beds, cold seeps, and hydrothermal vents

114

10

Pelagic ecosystems

128

11

Terrestrial ecosystems

139

12

Ecological change through time

153

13

Ecological consequences of mass extinctions

175

14

Conservation paleoecology

203

Index
Color plate pages fall between pp. 1 and 42

217

Preface
Thi book is intended for advanced undergraduates
and beginning graduate students who will have
had an undergraduate course in paleontology
as geology or earth science majors or a class in
ecology and evolution as biology majors. It is also
aimed at professionals who want to discover what
modern paleoecology with an evolutionary and
conservation paleoecology emphasis looks like. It is
not aimed to be encyclopedic in nature but rather as
an introduction to many of the fascinating aspects
of paleoecology. The approach has been to broadly
cover paleoecology, but the focus is deep-time
marine paleoecology, as that is where my experience
lies. Paleoecology has typically been focused on the
past, but its relevance to managing ecosystems in
the future has become more and more apparent,
and it is hoped that this text will stimulate further
research in this fashion.
The structure of this book is to present an
easy-to-read text, with more details in the figures
and figure captions. Thus, the text is meant to
provide a broad overview, while the figu es and
figu e captions provide added depth. With this
approach, my hope is that readers wont get bogged
down in a detailed text, but can find those details in
the figures and captions.
Development of this book has been the product
of my interactions with many people. I thank my
undergraduate mentor Bruce Saunders and my
Ph.D. advisor Don Hattin, as well as other graduate

mentors Gary Lane, Bob Dodd, Dick Beerbower,

Paul Enos, and Don Kissling. At USC, I have been
stimulated on a daily basis by colleagues Bob
Douglas, Al Fischer, Donn Gorsline, Frank Corsetti,
Will Berelson, and Josh West. My collaborations
with those from other institutions including Bill
Ausich, David Jablonski, Luis Chiappe, Eric Davidson, Bill Schopf, and Junyuan Chen have been
inordinately fruitful. But my major collaborators
over the years have been my graduate students,
and I especially thank Chuck Savrda, Mary Droser,
Jennifer Schubert, Kate Whidden, Kathy Campbell, Carol Tang, Reese Barrick, James Hagadorn,
Adam Woods, Steve Schellenberg, Nicole Fraser,
Nicole Bonuso, Sara Pruss, Steve Dornbos, Margaret Fraiser, Pedro Marenco, Katherine Marenco,
Catherine Powers, Scott Mata, Rowan Martindale,
Kathleen Ritterbush, Lydia Tackett, Carlie Pietsch,
Liz Petsios, Jeff Th mpson, and Joyce Yager. I am
indebted to Patricia Kelley and Paul Taylor who provided thorough reviews of this book in manuscript
form and Ian Francis and Kelvin Matthews of
Wiley-Blackwell who have provided much encouragement and assistance in the publication process.
My parents John and Marilyn Bottjer have supported
and encouraged me through all these years. My wife
Sarah Bottjer has been the essential person enabling
me to pursue a life focused on paleoecology and
paleobiology.