Project Description
The oldest amber is Late Carboniferous in age, about 320 million years old, but this most ancient amber is not known to have fossil inclusions. The Carboniferous was a time of rapid insect diversification and there is some indirect evidence (such as molecular clock dates) that some modern insect groups originated in the Carboniferous. However, Carboniferous body fossils of these modern groups are unknown, suggesting that they were small and soft-bodied and did not fossilize well. Amber is ideal for preserving small, soft bodied insects, so fossiliferous amber from the Carboniferous has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the early evolution of modern insect groups. Recently, a few papers have described the biotic and abiotic factors that promote the fossilization of insects in amber. These factors include forests of resin-producing plants, wildfires, and moderate to low rainfall. For this project, we will search the literature on the Carboniferous period to assess each factor and map, for example, the regions that had resin producing plants, wildfires, and moderate precipitation. Then we will determine which localities had the optimal conditions for fossilization of insects in amber to hypothesize the best places to look for fossiliferous Carboniferous amber.
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student collaborator on the proposed project, will be responsible for leading the literature review. They will first review the literature on amber production and insect fossilization in amber to identify a list of key biotic and abiotic factors that influence this. Then they will review the literature on the Carboniferous for each factor to determine the general regions that correspond to favorable conditions for fossilization in amber. For example, they will review the literature on precipitation during the Carboniferous to determine the zones of low to moderate precipitation. Then, they will map the worldwide extent of ideal amber fossilization conditions for each factor, using software such as GIS. Finally, they will focus on regions of the world where all favorable factors line up and do a more specific locality by locality literature review to determine more precisely the exact spots that are most likely to have Carboniferous amber with insect inclusions.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.