A postglacial coleopterous assemblage from Lockport Gulf, New York

Auteurs :
MILLER, R. F.
MORGAN, A. V.

Description :
The Lockport Gulf site near Lockport, New York, is a 1.9-m sequence of organic-rich marls having a basal date of approximately 10,920 yr B.P. Six bulk samples produced over 780 individual fossil insects representing five orders, as well as molluscs and abundant plant macrofossils. Coleoptera were represented by 24 families. Several major beetle groups indicate a riffle-and-pool stream, surrounded by marsh, with open riparian habitats and nearby trees. Two zones were recognized. The Zone 1 fauna (ca. 10,920-9800 yr B.P.) was dominated by boreal forest taxa with abundant bark beetles indicating the presence of spruce trees. In Zone 2 (ca. 9700-9100 yr B.P.) the combination of species with a restricted modern distribution in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest region and pine and deciduous tree inhabitants suggests a change in vegetation by 9700 yr B.P. Thermal estimates from a faunal analysis indicate that the climatic conditions were stable across the spruce-pine transition, with the mean July temperature in the range of 16 to 18C.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Quaternary research New York, 1982, vol. 17, n°. 2, p. 258-274, Références bibliographiques : 30 réf.

Date :
1982