Geological Society of America

13 Undergraduate Oral Presentations

Thursday, 7 April 2022
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
North Meeting Room 205

MIDDLE MIOCENE FUNGI FROM THE BOUIE RIVER FOSSIL FLORA SITE IN THE UPPER HATTIESBURG FORMATION, HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI

Paper number: 13-6
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM

Authors

Tyler Spears Presenting Author
Department of Physics, Earth Science, and Space Systems Engineering, Morehead, MS
Ingrid Romero
Department of Physics, Earth Science, and Space Systems Engineering, Morehead, MS
Noelia B. Nuñez Otaño
Laboratorio de Geología de Llanuras, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Diamante, MS
James Starnes
Office of Geology, Jackson, MS
Mac Alford
Ecology and Organismal Biology, Hattiesburg, MS
Alyson Brink
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
Matthew J. Pound
Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne
Jennifer O'Keefe
Department of Physics, Earth Science, and Space Systems Engineering, Morehead, KY

Abstract

Fungal spores are an under-studied non-pollen palynomorph with potential as proxies for local paleoenvironmental conditions. Unlike dispersal of pollen, fungal spores typically are dispersed in immediate proximity to the parent fungal body. Like many palynomorphs, they have weathering-resistant organic polymer walls, which means they are frequently preserved in the sedimentary record. Very few studies have been conducted on Middle Miocene fossil fungal diversity in the Gulf Coastal Plain (USA) and none at all on the their usefulness to track climate change. The Middle Miocene fossil flora site (MS. 18.001) in the upper Hattiesburg Formation contains a diverse macro- and micro-fossil flora indicative of sub-tropical paleoclimates during the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (MMCT). These assemblages remain remarkably similar to those found along the coastal rivers in this region today. This study was designed to document the biodiversity of fungi in the upper Hattiesburg Formation and assess fungal biodiversity changes with respect to climatic changes during the Serravallian to the early Tortonian. These findings provide an important window into fungal communities during the Middle Miocene in the Gulf Coast Plain (USA).

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022NC-375490

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