Abstract
An ichnofabric includes all structure and textural changes of the sediment resulting from bioturbation (and bioerosion) at all scales. Abundance and distribution of burrows reflects the non-linear sorting effects of physical and biological parameters, resulting in a disturbance regime which generates patchiness. To analyze the patch dynamics of trace fossils as a result of environmental disturbance, this study quantifies bioturbation rates and spatial and temporal variation based on fractal geometry. Multifractal spectrum is used as a measure of spatial ichnofabric heterogeneities. The magnitude of the Daedalus ichnofabric fluctuations for the two stratigraphic sequences sampled shows that sandflat substrate colonization by the Daedalus halli worm producer after each storm event was opportunistic, mostly multigenerational, with an exclusive and significant occupation of emptied ecospace, for the purpose of meiofauna harvesting in clean sands.
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Neto de Carvalho, C., Baucon, A. (2014). Multifractals and Capacity Dimension as Measures of Disturbance Patch Dynamics in Daedalus Ichnofabrics. In: Pardo-Igúzquiza, E., Guardiola-Albert, C., Heredia, J., Moreno-Merino, L., Durán, J., Vargas-Guzmán, J. (eds) Mathematics of Planet Earth. Lecture Notes in Earth System Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32408-6_161
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