A report on the Caesar Creek local fauna
Sample Solution
Caesar Creek Lake is located in Warren and Clinton Counties, Ohio, approximately 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati. The lake was created in 1973 by the damming of Caesar Creek, a tributary of the Little Miami River. The Caesar Creek Lake area is a popular destination for recreation, including boating, fishing, swimming, and camping. It is also a valuable habitat for a variety of wildlife, including fish, birds, and mammals.
In this report, we will present the results of a fossil collection and analysis conducted at Caesar Creek Lake. We collected fossils from the Fairmount Member of the Waynesville Formation, which is a Middle Ordovician limestone. The Fairmount Member was deposited in a shallow marine environment.
Methods
We collected fossils from the Fairmount Member limestone at several different locations around Caesar Creek Lake. We used a variety of tools and techniques to collect the fossils, including hammers, chisels, and brushes. We also used a magnifying glass to help us identify and collect smaller fossils.
Once we had collected the fossils, we returned to the lab to identify them. We used a variety of resources to identify the fossils, including field guides, textbooks, and online resources.
Geologic Setting
The Fairmount Member of the Waynesville Formation is a Middle Ordovician limestone. It was deposited in a shallow marine environment. The Fairmount Member is overlain by the Liberty Formation, which is a shale deposited in a deeper marine environment.
Taphonomy
The fossils we collected from the Fairmount Member are preserved in a variety of ways. Some of the fossils are well-preserved, while others are more fragmentary. The fossils were likely preserved by a combination of processes, including burial in sediment and mineralization.
The organisms that produced the fossils we collected likely died in a variety of ways. Some of the organisms may have died naturally, while others may have been killed by predators or disease.
The fossils we collected are both in situ and ex situ. Some of the fossils were found in their original death positions, while others were transported from their original death positions before being fossilized.
Taxonomic Diversity
We identified a total of 12 taxa from the Fairmount Member limestone. The taxa are grouped by phyla, class, order, family, genus, and species in the following table:
| Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus | Species |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brachiopoda | Articulata | Strophomenida | Strophomenidae | Strophomena | Strophomena wisconsinensis |
| Brachiopoda | Articulata | Orthida | Dalmanellidae | Dalmanella | Dalmanella testudinaria |
| Brachiopoda | Articulata | Spiriferida | Spiriferidae | Spirifer | Spirifer radiatus |
| Bryozoa | Cryptostomata | Fenestella | Fenestellidae | Fenestella | Fenestella shumardi |
| Cnidaria | Anthozoa | Rugosa | Streptelasmatidae | Streptelasma | Streptelasma corniculum |
| Crinoids | Articulata | Camerata | Eucrinidae | Eucrinus | Eucrinus liliiformis |
| Echinodermata | Echinoidea | Archaeocidaroida | Archaeocidaridae | Archaeocidaris | Archaeocidaris aculeata |
| Gastropoda | Prosobranchia | Bellerophontida | Bellerophontidae | Bellerophon | Bellerophon bilobatus |
| Mollusca | Bivalvia | Palaeoheterodonta | Isocardiidae | Modiolopsis | Modiolopsis modiolaris |
| Mollusca | Cephalopoda | Nautiloidea | Orthoceratidae | Orthoceras | Orthoceras vicinus |
| Trilobita | Phacopina | Proetida | Proetidae | Proetus | Proetus sp. |
The taxonomic richness of our assemblage is relatively low, with only 12 taxa identified. However, the phylogenetic diversity of our assemblage is relatively high. Our assemblage includes representatives from six different phyla and eight different classes.
The relative abundance of the different taxa in our assemblage is variable. The most abundant taxa are brachiopods, followed by bryozoans, crinoids, and echinoids. The other taxa are less abundant.
The evenness of the distribution of abundance among the different taxa in our assemblage is relatively low. This is because a few taxa are very abundant, while the other taxa are less abundant.
The taxonomic richness, phylogenetic diversity, and relative abundance o