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Taxonomic and taphonomic signatures of mollusk shell concentrations from coastal lagoon environments in Belize, Central America

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Abstract

Faunal composition and distribution patterns of mollusk assemblages from 20 shell concentrations in cores collected in coastal lagoons, a mangrove-fringed tidal inlet, and the marginal marine area (shallow subtidal) along the central coast of Belize show considerable variation due to environmental heterogeneity and the interplay of several environmental factors in the course of the mid-late Holocene (ca. 6000 cal BP to modern). The investigated fauna ≥2 mm comprises 2246 bivalve, 789 gastropod, and 11 scaphopod specimens. Fifty-three mollusk species, belonging to 42 families, were identified. The bivalve Anomalocardia cuneimeris and cerithid gastropods are the dominant species and account for 78 % of the total fauna. Diversity indices are low in concentrations from lagoons and relatively high in the marginal marine and tidal inlet areas. Based on cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, seven lagoonal assemblages and three marginal marine/tidal inlet assemblages were defined. A separation between lagoonal and marginal marine/tidal inlet assemblages seen in ordination indicates a lagoon-onshore gradient. The statistical separation among lagoonal assemblages demonstrates environmental changes during the Holocene evolution of the coastal lagoons, which is probably related to the formation of barriers and spits. The controlling factors of species distribution patterns are difficult to rule out, probably due to the heterogeneity of the barrier–lagoon systems and the interaction of paleoecological and paleoenvironmental factors. In addition to the taxonomic analysis, a taphonomic analysis of 1827 valves of A. cuneimeris from coastal lagoons was carried out. There is no relationship between depth and age of shells and their taphonomic condition. Size-frequency distributions and right-left valve ratios of A. cuneimeris suggest that valves were not transported over long distances but were deposited parautochthonously in their original habitat. Shells from tidal inlet and marginal marine environments were also predominantly deposited in their original habitats.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Gi222/20) and the Alfons and Gertrud Kassel-Stiftung, who funded this project. We thank Stefan Haber, Malo Jackson, David Geban, and Claire Santino for help during fieldwork. Nils Prawitz, Anja Isaack, and Lars Klostermann assisted during sample preparation. Dr. Rainer Petschick ran the X-ray diffractometer, Wolfgang Schiller and Claudia Franz operated the SEM. Two reviewers whose useful comments helped to improve the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, J.W. Goethe Universität, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Friederike Adomat, Eberhard Gischler & Wolfgang Oschmann

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  1. Friederike Adomat
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Correspondence to Friederike Adomat.

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Adomat, F., Gischler, E. & Oschmann, W. Taxonomic and taphonomic signatures of mollusk shell concentrations from coastal lagoon environments in Belize, Central America. Facies 62, 5 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-015-0454-4

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