Morphology, distribution, and preservation potential of microbial mats in the hydromagnesite-magnesite playas of the Cariboo Plateau, British Columbia, Canada

Hydrobiologia ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 267 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 75-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin W. Renaut
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Preservation Potential

scholarly journals Evaporative silicification in floating microbial mats: patterns of oxygen production and preservation potential in silica‐undersaturated streams, El Tatio, Chile

Geobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan T. Wilmeth ◽  
Kimberly D. Myers ◽  
Stefan V. Lalonde ◽  
Kaarel Mänd ◽  
Kurt O. Konhauser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Oxygen Production ◽  
Preservation Potential

Ultrastructure and seasonal growth patterns of microbial mats in a temperate climate saline-alkaline lake: Goodenough Lake, British Columbia, Canada

1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schultze-Lam ◽  
F. G. Ferris ◽  
B. Sherwood-Lollar ◽  
J. P. Gerits
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Purple Bacteria ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Saline Groundwater ◽  
Alkaline Lake ◽  
Lake Bottom ◽  
Groundwater Springs

Goodenough Lake is a small (ca. 1 by 0.6 km) saline-alkaline lake on the Caribou Plateau in British Columbia, Canada, which has a mean depth of < 1 m, allowing the growth of substantial prokaryote-dominated benthic microbial mats over the entire lake bottom. Microbial mats were investigated on both a detailed ultrastructural level and at a macroscopic level to determine, on a lakewide scale, the seasonally influenced changes that occurred over the course of a spring to fall growth season. The acceleration of phototrophic activity with warming of the lake water in spring could be followed by increases in dissolved oxygen levels, which quickly reached supersaturation early in the summer. The grazing activity of brine fly larvae (Ephydra hians) was found to have a significant influence on mat growth and development patterns. On an ultrastructural level, several types of filamentous cyanobacteria were the main phototrophic organisms present, even in anaerobic parts of the mats, where they were accompanied by purple bacteria. The dominant cyanobacterium present was a large oscillatoriacean form which, in certain parts of the lake, formed unusual columnar structures that had a very low diversity of microbial species in comparison to mats from other regions of the lake. The microbial community also differed in areas of the lake where less saline groundwater springs emerged from the lake bed.Key words: microbial mats, saline-alkaline lakes, cyanobacteria, ultrastructure.

The Early Cretaceous Apple Bay flora of Vancouver Island: a hotspot of fossil bryophyte diversity

Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (9) ◽  
pp. 683-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandru M.F. Tomescu
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Significant Fraction ◽  
Plant Fossil ◽  
Rock Record ◽  
Preservation Potential ◽  
Better Than

The pre-Cenozoic bryophyte fossil record is significantly sparser than that of vascular plants or Cenozoic bryophytes. This situation has been traditionally attributed to a hypothesized low preservation potential of the plants. However, instances of excellent pre-Cenozoic bryophyte preservation and the results of experiments simulating fossilization contradict this traditional interpretation, suggesting that bryophytes have good preservation potential. Studies of an anatomically preserved Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) plant fossil assemblage on Vancouver Island (British Columbia), at Apple Bay, focusing on the cryptogamic flora, have revealed an abundant bryophyte component. The Apple Bay flora hosts one of the most diverse bryophyte assemblages worldwide, with at least nine distinct moss types (polytrichaceous, leucobryaceous, tricostate), one complex thalloid liverwort, and two other thalloid plants (representing bryophyte or pteridophyte gametophytes), which contribute a significant fraction of biodiversity to the pre-Cenozoic fossil record of bryophytes. These results (i) corroborate previous observations and studies, indicating that the preservation potential of bryophytes is much better than traditionally thought; (ii) indicate that the bryophyte fossil record is incompletely explored and many more bryophyte fossils are hidden in the rock record, awaiting discovery; and (iii) suggest that the paucity of the pre-Cenozoic bryophyte fossil record is primarily a reflection of inadequate paleobryological capacity.

Tufted microbial (cyanobacterial) mats from the Proterozoic Stoer Group, Scotland

1984 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Upfold
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Cyanobacterial Mats ◽  
Preservation Potential

AbstractUpward-thinning stellate and polygonal carbonate structures are described and compared to modern and ancient stromatolites. Although tufted microbial mats are common in modern settings they have rarely been described from ancient rocks owing to their poor preservation potential. The preservation of these from the Stoer Group is due to early replacement by calcite before their original tufted relief could be obliterated by compaction. Associated limestones with some similar features are interpreted as flat to mamillated microbial mats.

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