Processes of reef diversification during the Ordovician Radiation

• Applicant: Dr. Björn Kröger
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 227077200

During the Ordovician a massive diversification occurred within reef structures and habitats. In this time interval microbial bioherms were generally replaced by more complex metazoan-dominated structures. These changes were accompanied by a dramatic diversification of the entire reef-fauna. Here I will test the hypothesis, that ecosystem-inherent factors prompted the diversification and the expansion of Ordovician reefs.Hypothetically, new types of organisms massively, and largely independent from climatic and physicochemical changes, influenced the susceptibility, and the structural differentiation of Ordovician reefs. In order to test this hypothesis, a detailed characterization of the evolution of fossil communities within Ordovician reef-systems is necessary. A sedimentological microfacies analysis, and a taxon-quantitative analysis of specific Ordovician reef structures is intended, which will identify crucial diversification drivers. A comparison of changes in the fossil communities of Ordovician reefs with known physicochemical changes will identify the role of organisms itself during the course of the diversification.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants