Theme Session 15

Traces of Life: Micro- to Macroscopic Evidence of Past and Present Biogenic Activity and their Implications for Marine and Continental Settings

Stephen T. Hasiotis, University of Kansas
Jennifer A. Roberts, University of Kansas
David Fowle, University of Kansas

Ichnofossils preserve a range of behaviors produced by organisms from microbes to plants and animals (including humans), resulting in borings, stromatolites, root patterns, tracks and trails, burrows, and nests in continental and marine deposits. These vestiges preserve evidence for biotic occurrences that otherwise are not represented by body fossils for those rocks or period of time. The ichnofossils also provide insights into the nature of organism-media interactions and processes in the physicochemical environment in which they were generated. We look for submissions that use microbial to human behavioral data to address questions pertaining to biodiversity, taphonomy, environment, soil formation, ecology, hydrology, and climate in the geologic record.