Labs 8 and 9: An Oregon Story

Learning objective:

 Explore the relationship between taphonomic processes and the fossil record.
 Connect concepts about deep time, fossilization, evolution, and ecology to the local fossil-
bearing Astoria Formation.

Materials:

 Stable internet connection

 Pencil and paper
 This virtual field trip website
 Google dice roller

In this virtual field trip to both the modern and ancient Oregon Coast, you will explore the processes
that affect organisms from the time they die until, millions of years later, their fossils are catalogued in
museum collections. This activity will draw on concepts you have learned throughout the term.

Instructions: Read through the slides in the virtual field website linked in the Materials section above.
Then answer the questions associated with each of those slides.

Section 1—Before Burial (Slides 1-10)

Slide 1: A day at the coast.

1. Look at the picture of a small tide pool from the

modern-day Oregon Coast to the right. How
many different types of organisms can you see in
this photograph? Zoom in to see more detail of
this high-resolution photo! Then sketch or
describe (in complete sentences) three of the
different types of organisms that you see in this
photograph. (If you’d like, you can sketch pictures
on a physical sheet of paper, photograph those
sketches, and paste them into this document if
you are completing this assignment digitally.)

2. In the photo below, giant green anemones crowd together in a narrow rock fissure. Smaller
aggregating anemones (smaller pink and green rings—see the red circle!) and barnacles are grouped
 together above the fissure on the more exposed portion of the outcrop. Referring to this
photograph, write 2-3 complete sentences in the box below discussing reasons why the giant green
anemones are clustered inside the fissure while the aggregating anemones and barnacles are
located outside of the fissure.

The explanation on the slide says that it is exposed to the air due to the receding tide. Since sea
anemones are originally in the sea, they are close to the inner sea and are correct. The barnacles on the
outside may be in contact with the air, so it's no wonder they're on the outside or farther from the sea.
Slide 2: “Life” after death.

3. Imagine an animal, such as a squirrel, beetle, snail, raccoon, or otherwise, dies outside of your
current place of residence. Choose an animal and list 3 things that might happen to this animal after
it dies but before it can be buried. (Remember: the overwhelming majority of organisms are
destroyed before they can undergo burial!)

Animal: _____racoon_____

1. Skeletonization over time

2. Predation by other animals

3. Increased odor due to sunlight

4. Is this animal likely to be buried? Why or why not? Respond in 2-3 complete sentences.

In Problem 3, it is said that it is the current place of residence, so the outside is concrete, so it will not be
buried. It takes at least sand, mud, or a year to become a fossil.

5. Sediment deposition is the process by which grains of sediment accumulate over time. How do you
think the rate of sediment deposition (fast or slow) affects the likelihood of an organism’s burial?
Respond in 1-2 sentences.

If the sedimentation rate is slow, the dead organisms

will fossilize over many years. On the other hand, in
areas where sediment is likely to occur, corpses are
more likely to fossilize sooner.

Slide 5: Post-death processes. Take a look at this

picture of a dead harbor seal from the modern-day
Oregon Coast.
6. What do you think has happened to this seal since it first died? List 3 events that might have
impacted this seal in the time since its death.

1. Weathering of dead bodies by the wind

2. Skeletonization of the corpse by the sun

3. The seal's body was lost and landed on a stone while the carcass was being washed away in a
river.

7. Looking at this seal as well as its environment, do you think it is likely to be buried and preserved?
Why or why not? Answer these questions in 2-3 sentences below.

No, it doesn't have the necessary conditions for fossilization. You need at least sand, mud, and a year.
Without them, sediments cannot be formed. Only pebbles can be seen in the photo. The slide has
something like a river a little above, but it's too far from the corpse.

Examine the two beach photos below.

February May

8. What do you notice is different about the beach in these two pictures? Respond in 1-2 complete
sentences.

You can see that the sand on the beach in February is not dry and there are multiple other stratum. In
May, the beach is completely dry, and the stratum can be roughly divided into two.
9. What environmental factors do you think contributes to this difference? Think about what you know
about Oregon winter weather versus summer weather! (For a hint, check out this travel advisory for
the Oregon Coast.) How do you think these factors impact the likelihood that dead organisms will be
buried? Respond to these questions in 3-4 complete sentences below.

Looking at the temperature of the Oregon coaster, the extreme temperature difference is rare.
Summers are hot and dry, so I think there is a high possibility that carcasses of animals will become
skeletonized. It often rains in winter. And because there is sand, it can be buried and fossilized.

Slide 7: Wonder Worms

10. What is bioturbation? How do you think bioturbation affects the likelihood that the buried remains
of organisms will be preserved? Write 2-3 complete sentences exploring this question.

Bioturbation can be disturbed or destroyed by worms and other sediment feeders that dig holes in
corpses during burial. In the video, the worm moved around in the ground, creating a cavity in the place
after it moved, and the corpse gradually continued to move and was not fixed.
Slide 9: Choose your player! Do you have what it takes to survive the surface?

11. Choose three different organisms from the figure in the slide. Following the instructions in the VFE,
record how many dice rolls you needed to achieve burial. Then consider the features of these
organisms that we have already discussed (body characteristics, population structure, ecology, etc.).
Imagine and describe 2 possible reasons why it took as few or as many rolls for your chosen
organism to reach burial. (To learn more about these organisms, visit animaldiversity.org and search
for them there.)
Organism chosen: Organism chosen: Organism chosen:

______barnacles_____ ________brittle star________ _______sea anemone______

Number of rolls to reach burial: Number of rolls to reach burial: Number of rolls to reach burial:
6 2 24

2 possible factors influencing burial 2 possible factors influencing burial 2 possible factors influencing burial
likelihood: likelihood: likelihood:

Due to the influence of the food The brittle star may be eaten by Sea anemones may be eaten by
chain, the barnacles at the bottom other organisms. crab starfish.
can be eaten by the time they are
buried.

Barnacles can be destroyed by the There is a possibility that the body Possibility of drying and
effects of waves. will collide with somewhere and be skeletonizing due to excessive
destroyed due to the influence of sunlight
sea waves.

Section 2: Underground uncertainy

Slide 12: Diagenesis: turning sediment into stone and Slide 13: Permineralization. As sediment
accumulates, its weight compresses and compacts the layers of sediment lower in the sedimentary
basin. Sedimentary basins can be thousands of feet deep—that’s a lot of heavy sediment!
12. Imagine that the remains of the two organisms shown below have been buried off the coast of
Oregon. How do you think compaction will affect each organism differently? Is either specimen
likely to be preserved long-term? Write 2-3 complete sentences answering these questions.

Nudibranch (photo of Thecacera sp., photo by Nick Sea snail encrusted with barnacles
Hobgood)

As the fossils gradually increase in formation, pressure is applied to the lower part, which may cause soft
objects such as sea anemones to become trace fossils. If there are hard shells such as barnacles. It can
be a fossil called whole body fossil.

Slide 14: Underground Uncertainty

13. After reading through the Underground Uncertainty slide in the VFE, look at the diagram of the
earth’s crust below. (The crust is the thin outer layer of the crust; visit
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/explainer-earth-layer-layer to learn more about
the layers of the earth.) At which of the three labeled points in this diagram would you expect to
find fossils? Why would you not expect to find fossils at the other two points? Explore these
questions in 2-3 complete sentences in the box below.

I think you can find fossils from this figure, but I think it is number one. This is because the plates rarely
move due to disasters such as volcanoes, causing the fossils to break and break. Because numbers 2 and
3 are especially included in the metamorphism line.
 1

14. Referring to the figure above, at approximately what temperature do rocks and the fossils they
contain begin to undergo metamorphism? At what depth?

The depth is about 10km to 35km and the temperature is around 300 ℃ to 500 ℃.

Choose your player!

2.5 Using the same organisms from the previous Choose your player! exercise, follow the
instructions in the VFE, record how many dice rolls you needed to achieve fossilization. How do the
 processes that occur after burial influence preservation differently than the processes that occur before
burial? Respond to this question in 3-4 sentences below.

Organism chosen: Organism chosen: Organism chosen:

_________crab________ ______large sea snail_____ _______anemone______

Number of rolls to achieve Number of rolls to achieve Number of rolls to achieve

fossilization: fossilization: fossilization:

4 7 15

Before all living things were buried, they were eaten by other animals and their carcasses changed due to the
weather. However, after the burial, it was destroyed due to changes in the stratum and crushed to the point of
being difficult to recognize due to pressure. Another cause is heat.
 Section 3: Out of the ground and back again

Slide 16: Back to the Surface

15. Look at the uplifted outcrop shown to the right.

Imagine that you find fossils embedded in the
rock at the four places indicated in the
photograph. Thinking about what you have
learned about sediment deposition, list the
fossils in order from OLDEST (the first to 1
become buried) to YOUNGEST (the last to be
buried) in the box below. For more hints,
Google the geologic principle of superposition
or check out this link.
4

2-3-4-1
3

16. Imagine that the fossil you found at Box 4 was not embedded in the rock but instead sitting loose on
the surface. (Paleontologists refer to this as being “in float”.) Can you still be sure of the order you
listed above? Why or why not? Answer these questions in 2-3 complete sentences below.

Yes, I think I can say that. I don't think it will change unless the strata themselves have changed and
the order from the bottom to the oldest has changed. For example, if the strata are reversed, it will be
the opposite, but I can be sure that it will not change.