PRESERVATION OF CYCLOTELLA MENEGHINIANA KÜTZING (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) ALONG A CONTINENTAL SALINITY GRADIENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR DIATOM-BASED PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTIONS

HASSAN, GABRIELA S.; DE FRANCESCO, CLAUDIO G.

AMEGHINIANA

ASOCIACION PALEONTOLOGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2018 vol. 55 p. 263 - 276

0002-7014

In order to elucidate the effect that physico-chemical lake characteristics exert on diatom valve preservation, the taphonomic signatures of the target taxa Cyclotella meneghiniana Kützing was assessed in twenty five shallow lakes of the Pampa plain of Argentina. Fragmentation and dissolution indices were quantitatively related to environmental variables through univariate and multivariate techniques (Generalized linear models, Redundancy analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis). Valves showed signs of fragmentation and dissolution, being recognized different stages of taphonomic damage. Dissolution significantly increased with salinity, pH, carbonate and bicarbonate concentrations. Environmental constraints on valve fragmentation were less clearly identified in the dataset. Besides its key role on valve preservation, salinity also accounted for a significant, although lower, percentage of the variation in diatom composition of death assemblages. The results encourage the use of diatom taphonomy as indicators of past salinity fluctuations in Pampean shallow lakes. Taphonomic profiles can be used to reconstruct past environmental fluctuations, as well as to identify assemblages subjected to significant taphonomic biases. Combining diatom taphonomy and community paleoecology constitutes a promising tool for maximizing their respective strengths while downweighing their limitations.