Depositional environment control on the geochemical signal of ancient shallow-water carbonates (Upper Jurassic, French Jura)

<p><span>Chemostratigraphy has become a key tool to study shallow-water carbonate systems and propose insightful time correlations where biostratigraphic markers are limited. However, the bulk geochemical signal of shallow-water carbonate deposits commonly results from the superposition of local and global trends. </span><span>A</span><span>dditionally, </span><span>the shallow-water carbonate deposits</span><span> frequently undergo intense diagenetic alteration obliterating the original seawater signature.</span></p><p><span>Based on three well-constrained Upper Jurassic sections of the French Jura, this study aims at discussing the control of the original depositional environment on the bulk geochemical signature of ancient shallow-water carbonates. Using isotope ratios </span><span>(</span>δ<sup><span>13</span></sup><span>C, </span>δ<sup><span>18</span></sup><span>O, </span><sup><span>87</span></sup><span>Sr/</span><sup><span>86</span></sup><span>Sr), elemental concentrations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Sr, Al, U) and statistical methods, this paper shows that two main processes, closely linked to the depositional environments and associated conditions, control the overall signature of bulk samples of the studied deposits: the detrital input and the diagenetic effects. The detrital input, identified by increase in Fe, Al, Mn and U concentrations, is the highest in very proximal areas (supra- and intertidal domains) affected by terrestrial organic matter and pedogenetic material influx, and in distal realms (open sea) characterized by fine terrigenous fraction deriving from continental landmass erosion. The diagenetic effect</span><span>s</span><span> can be subdivided into two processes: the dolomitization and the diagenetic imprint. The dolomitization, associated to increase in Mg and </span>δ<sup><span>18</span></sup><span>O, mostly concerns supra- and intertidal deposits affected by refluxing evaporitic-derived brines. The diagenetic imprint, mainly associated to decrease of </span>δ<sup><span>13</span></sup><span>C, </span>δ<sup><span>18</span></sup><span>O and increase in </span><sup><span>87</span></sup><span>Sr/</span><sup><span>86</span></sup><span>Sr, is the most important in platform margin deposits associated to high primary porosities enhancing fluid-rock interactions during burial </span><span>an</span><span>d</span><span>/or meteoric</span><span> diagenesis. Because of these processes, time correlations are overall very difficult to establish between the studied sections.</span></p><p><span>The combined analyses of depositional environments and geochemical signal finally led to the conclusion that the concept of “geochemical facies” might represent an interesting tool to discuss depositional conditions and diagenetic effects along specific depositional models.</span><span> This integrated study provides (1) relevant results to step back on challenging chemostratigraphic interpretations in shallow-water carbonate settings and (2) new insights into the complex sedimentological, diagenetic and geochemical interactions in shallow-water carbonate depositional systems.</span></p><p><br><br></p>

Spatial density estimates of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the French Jura and Vosges Mountains

Obtaining estimates of animal population density is a key step in providing sound conservation and management strategies for wildlife. For many large carnivores however, estimating density is difficult because these species are elusive and wide-ranging. Here, we focus on providing the first density estimates of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the French Jura and Vosges mountains. We sampled a total of 413 camera trapping sites (with 2 cameras per site) between January 2011 and April 2016 in seven study areas across seven counties of the French Jura and Vosges mountains. We obtained 592 lynx detections over 19,035 trap days in the Jura mountain and 0 detection over 6,804 trap days in the Vosges mountain. Based on coat patterns, we identified a total number of 92 unique individuals from photographs, including 16 females, 13 males and 63 individuals of unknown sex. Using spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models, we estimated abundance in the study areas between 5 (SE = 0.1) and 29 (0.2) lynx and density between 0.24 (SE = 0.02) and 0.91 (SE = 0.03) lynx per 100 km2. We also provide a comparison with non-spatial density estimates and discuss the expected discrepancies. Our study is yet another example of the advantage of combining SCR methods and non-invasive sampling techniques to estimate density for elusive and wide-ranging species, like large carnivores. While the estimated densities in the French Jura mountain are comparable to other lynx populations in Europe, the fact that we detected no lynx in the Vosges mountain is alarming. Connectivity should be encouraged between the French Jura mountain, the Vosges mountain and the Palatinate Forest in Germany where a reintroduction program is currently ongoing. Our density estimates will help in setting a baseline conservation status for the lynx population in France.

Revisiting the Age of Jurassic Coral Bioherms in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians) on the Basis of Benthic Foraminifers

Coral bioherms of the Vršatec Limestone that formed massive, several tens of meters thick complexes during the Jurassic were important sources of carbonate production, with carbonate sediment exported to deeper parts of the Pieniny Klippen Basin (Western Carpathians). However, the age of these carbonate factories remains controversial. New analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages occurring in coral bioherms and peri-biohermal deposits of the Vršatec Limestone at five sites in the western Pieniny Klippen Belt (Vršatec-Castle, Vršatec-Javorníky, Malé Hradište, Malé Hradište-Kalvária, and Drieňová Hora) show that these sediments were deposited during the Bajocian and were lateral equivalents of crinoidal limestones and breccias, in contrast to previous studies suggesting that they were deposited during the Oxfordian. First, all sites are characterized by similar composition of foraminiferal assemblages on the basis of presence–absence data, although foraminiferal assemblages in biosparitic facies at Vršatec are dominated by miliolids whereas biomicritic facies at Malé Hradište are dominated by the spirillinid Paalzowella. The composition of foraminiferal assemblages does not differ between the lower and upper parts of the Vršatec Limestone. Second, foraminifer species that were assumed to appear for the first time in the Oxfordian already occur in the Middle Jurassic sediments of the northern Tethyan shelf. Third, the first and last appearances of foraminifers documented in other Tethyan regions are in accordance with stratigraphic analyses and ammonoid occurrences, demonstrating that bioherm-forming coral communities developed on the Czorzstyn Ridge during the Bajocian. Several species of foraminifers of the Vršatec Limestone appeared for the first time during the middle or late Aalenian (Labalina occulta, Paalzowella feifeli) and during the Bajocian (Hungarillina lokutiense, Radiospirillina umbonata, Ophthalmidium caucasicum, O. terquemi, O. obscurum, Paalzowella turbinella, Cornuspira tubicomprimata, Nubecularia reicheli) or appeared for the last time in the Bajocian (Tethysiella pilleri) or Early Bathonian (Ophthalmidium caucasicum, O. obscurum). The composition and diversity of communities with benthic foraminifers of the Vršatec Limestone is similar to the composition of foraminiferal communities on carbonate platform environments with corals of the French Jura and Burgundy during the Bajocian.