Plant microfossils are extracted from strata of Upper Devonian age occurring at two previously uninvestigated localities in Eastern Canada and in the Canadian Arctic. The extraction procedure includes a new permanent palynological mounting technique using corn syrup and Permount, a synthetic resin. In addition, a method of eliminating by-product in residues after hydrofluoric acid, is also described. A number of miospore and acritarch form species are described and figured; nine new form species of miospores are proposed. The miospore species recovered from both localities indicate a geological age of early Upper Devonian (Frasnian) for the enclosing strata. A new way of assessing qualitative, regional palaeofloristic changes is provided by tabulation of morphological characteristics of individual miospores. The use of miospore species in defining Upper Devonian microfloral provinces and Upper Devonian-Lower Carboniferous migration of parent forms is demonstrated. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No / Elemental ratio data from archaeological and paleontological bone have often been used for paleoecological reconstruction, but recent studies have shown that, even when solubility profiling techniques are employed in an attempt to recover biogenic signals, bone is an unreliable material. As a result, there has been renewed interest in using enamel for such studies, as it is known to be less susceptible to diagenesis. Nevertheless, enamel is not immune from diagenetic processes, and several studies have suggested that paleoecologically relevant elements may be altered in fossil enamel. Here, we investigate Sr, Ba, Zn, and Pb compositions of enamel from South African karstic cave sites in an effort to ascertain whether or not this material provides reliable paleoecological information. We compared enamel data for mammals from three fossil sites aged 1.8¿3.0 Ma, all of which are on dolomites, with data from modern mammals living on dolomitic and granitic substrates. Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca are about three times higher in enamel from modern mammals on granites than those living on dolomites, stressing the need for geologically appropriate modern/fossil comparisons. After pretreatment with dilute acid, we found no evidence of increased Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, or Pb/Ca in fossil enamel. In contrast, Zn/Ca increased by over five times at one site (Makapansgat), but much more subtly elsewhere. Ecological patterning in Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Sr/Ba ratios was also retained in fossil enamel. This study suggests that Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Pb/Ca data likely preserve paleoecological information from these sites, but also demonstrates that geologically similar sites can differ in the degree to which they impart certain elements (Zn in this case) to fossils. Thus, screening is probably necessary on a site-by-site basis. Lastly, further investigation of elemental distributions in modern foodwebs is necessary before elemental ratio analysis can become a common tool for paleoecological reconstruction.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A paleobotânica estuda os vegetais fósseis, entre eles, os lenhos, que por sua vez, fornecem importantes informações a respeito da evolução da vida na Terra, bem como, auxiliam nas interpretações paleoecológicas, paleoambientais, paleoclimáticas e bioestratigráficas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo identificar e tecer inferências sobre a paleoecologia dos lenhos fósseis da Bacia do Tacutu, bem como o seu contexto estratigráfico. Foram analisados sete espécimes, sendo seis procedentes do Rio Tacutu e um procedente do Morro do Tiro na Serra do Tucano. Para a análise das amostras foram elaboradas seções planas e lâminas delgadas em três seções (transversal, longitudinal radial e longitudinal tangencial) dos espécimes em estudo. Os lenhos de ambas as localidades apresentaram afinidade com o grupo das gimnospermas, possivelmente da Ordem Coniferales. Apenas a um espécime do Rio Tacutu foi possível identificar com precisão à Ordem Coniferales, Família Cheirolepidiaceae, gênero Brachyoxylon. Anéis de crescimento verdadeiros e falsos anéis foram encontrados em um espécime do Rio Tacutu, entretanto, a maior predominância foram de lenhos com crescimento contínuo, encontrados em ambas as localidades. Também foram verificadas pequenas lacunas ao longo da seção transversal, bem como a presença de manchas pretas no interior dos lúmens dos traqueídeos, características estas, aqui atribuídas à resposta das plantas a ataques de fitófagos. Os lenhos anteriormente descritos como procedentes da Formação Tacutu foram encontrados depositados em um paleopavimento às margens do Rio Tacutu e são aqui atribuídos à Formação Boa Vista, de idade cenozoica. A identificação taxonômica, no entanto, sugere que os lenhos sejam de idade cretácea, indicando que possivelmente eles foram retrabalhados e depositados em uma unidade mais jovem, fato corroborado pelas feições tafonômicas. Com relação ao padrão dos anéis de crescimento com predominância do tipo O foi possível sugerir para os espécimes do Rio Tacutu um paleoclima equatorial/tropical. No entanto, a ocorrência de um espécime com padrão do tipo D indica características de um paleoclima árido com verões úmidos. O único espécime da Serra do Tucano também apresentou padrão de crescimento do tipo O, sugerindo um paleoclima equatorial/tropical. As lacunas provocadas por fungos indicam a presença de umidade, mas o ataque pode ter se dado após o soterramento do lenho e não durante a vida e, portanto, podendo a umidade estar relacionada com o seu ambiente deposicional e não necessariamente com o seu habitat. / The paleobotany studies fossil plants, including the wood, which in turn provide important information about the evolution of life on Earth, as well as assist in paleoecological interpretations, paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and biostratigraphic. This study aims to identify and draw inferences about the paleoecology of fossil wood of the Tacutu Basin, and its stratigraphic context. Seven specimens were analyzed, six coming from the Tacutu River and founded the Morro do Tiro in the Serra do Tucano. For the analysis of the samples, flat sections and thin sections were prepared in three sections (transverse, radial longitudinal and tangential longitudinal) of the specimens studied. The wood of both locations showed affinity with the group of gymnosperms, possibly of the order Coniferales. Only one specimen of the Tacutu River was possible to identify precisely the order Coniferales, Cheirolepidiaceae Family, Brachyoxylon genre. Growth rings true and false rings were found in a specimen Tacutu River, however, the predominance were wood with continued growth, found in both locations. Also observed were small gaps along the cross section as well as the presence of black spots within the lumens of the tracheids, these features here assigned to the plant response to phytophagous attacks. The wood previously described as coming from Tacutu Formation were found deposited in a paleopaviment the banks of the Tacutu River and are hereby assigned to the Boa Vista Formation of Cenozoic age. The taxonomic identification, however, suggests that the logs are of Cretaceous age, indicating that possibly they were reworked and deposited at a younger unit, a fact corroborated by taphonomic features. Regarding the pattern of growth rings with predominance of type "O, it was possible to suggest for specimens of Tacutu River an equatorial / tropical paleoclimate. However, the occurrence of a specimen with pattern of type "D" indicates characteristics of a paleoclimates dry with wet summers. The only specimen of the Serra do Tucano also presents growth pattern of type "O suggests an equatorial / tropical paleoclimate. The gaps caused by fungi indicate the presence of humidity, but the attack may have been given after burial of the wood and not during their lifetime and therefore can humidity be related to their depositional environment and not necessarily their habitat.

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