Abstract
Understanding how reef communities may respond to dramatic environmental changes is paramount for current observation of modern-day reefs. This study aims to provide insights into regional ecological change, paleogeographic change, and sea level change following the disconformity at the Silurian-Devonian boundary of Ohio. Eastern and central Ohio underwent a series of slow and rapid transgressions from the late Silurian to the early Devonian due to global tectonic movement and lithospheric flexure related to the Acadian orogeny. At the Silurian-Devonian boundary, a disconformity separates the Bass Islands Dolomite from the Columbus Limestone. The Bass Islands Dolomite is an Upper Silurian dolostone while the Columbus Limestone is a Middle Devonian limestone made up of the Bellepoint, the Eversole, and the Delhi Members. The Bellepoint Member is a brown magnesian limestone divided into three zones: Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C (“the Coral Zone”). Nineteen lithologic hand samples and one hundred and fifteen fossil samples were collected from five localities in Delaware County, Ohio, west of the town of Bellepoint. At the scale of the exposure at Mill Creek, the sequence boundary was continuous and had a slightly irregular surface. Dominant phyla within the Coral Zone were solitary and fasciculate rugose corals and massive tabulate corals. Other phyla include echinoderms, stromatoporoids, mollusks, and brachiopods. The sequence boundary is likely the result of erosion following the transgression of Devonian epeiric seas onto land; this transgression was likely brought about by tectonism related to the Acadian orogeny and development of the western Appalachian Basin. The existence of a bioclastic wackestone and stromatoporoid-rich bindstone 50 centimeters below the Coral Zone suggests an attempt by pioneering organisms at reef development and may suggest repositioning the Coral Zone boundary. The Coral Zone likely represents a developing reef of pioneering, opportunistic species, potentially undergoing rapid autogenic succession.
Advisor
Lyon, Eva
Department
Geology
Recommended Citation
Link, Jess, "Analyzing a Pioneering Reef Community Following a Disconformity at the Silurian-Devonian Boundary of Central Ohio" (2025). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11499.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11499
Disciplines
Geology | Paleontology | Sedimentology | Stratigraphy
Publication Date
2025
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2025 Jess Link