Benjamin Woodmansee
Pronouns: he/him/his
Research Mentor(s): Sierra Petersen
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences / LSA
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Benjamin Woodmansee, Lucas Gomes, Sierra Petersen
Abstract
The Earth is constantly evolving, with landscapes looking dramatically different then they did in the past. This is no different for the Southwest Florida ecosystem in which this project attempts to gain a more complete understanding of its diverse and colorful history over the last three million years. Using samples of fossilized seashells from the Pleistocene era taken from a quarry in southwest Florida, this study pieces together what the environment was like during that time period. It is already accepted that sea levels were higher in the Pleistocene compared to today. Additionally, the Panama Isthmus was rising out of the sea, drastically changing ocean currents around the globe. We attempt to uncover how these factors impacted this coastal community by analyzing the particular mollusk species present. This was done by first collecting 15 bulk samples at regular intervals within the studied section. Within each sample, we quantified the number of fossil shells, relative abundance of different species, paying particular attention to taxa that indicate changes in salinity. The results have shown that the ecosystem underwent significant changes over the studied time interval. For example, in some bulk samples freshwater-dwelling shells were prevalent, whereas in others the shells were limited to strictly salt water taxa. Some species rose and fell, while others remained a powerful and constant presence. Looking collectively at the over 2000 shells used in the study, it is clear that the Pleistocene Florida platform was an ever changing and dynamic marine to semi-marine environment.
