Research interests
Jasper National Park, AB, Canada
All photos copyright of Baptiste Coutret except where noted.
The late Neoproterozoic Byng Formation : Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
The Ediacaran Byng Formation contains a carbonate platform outcropping stratigraphically at the top of the Neoproterozoic Miette group in the Canadian Rockies. This Formation hosts some of the earliest evidence of calcified-shelly macrofossils of Cloudina - Namacalathus assemblage and numerous specimens of well preserved stromatolites in shallow marine carbonate settings.
Given the stratigraphic position of the Byng Formation, and its close relationship with the earliest biomineralized macroscopic animals, we are hoping to gain a better understanding of the link between geochemical changes in seawater and biological evolution, using both chemostratigraphic and stratigraphic profiles of the Byng Formation.
Stromatolitic facies from the Byng Formation.
The role of microbial mats in animal life
Algea mats, Vienne River, France
Microbial mats and animals
Mobile animals such as burrowing invertebrates have been observed in sediments from oxygen depleted environments such as hypersaline lagoons or anoxic lake. The association between these animals and the microbial mats highlights their ability to flourish under challenging conditions and emphasize the importance of these mats as ecological niches for diverse organisms. It is noteworthy that these animals can survive by living within the mat community.
© Brette Harris
© Kelly Rozanitis
Modern microbial related texture with grazing invertebrate trail.
Microsensing microbial mats at Cooking Lake
Insect burrowing lake sediments in microbial mats (Cooking Lake, AB)
The trace fossil record
Cambrian bedding plane, Normady France
The evolution of the earliest animals and a comprehensive of the environmental and ecological drivers that led to their success are still shrouded by a dearth of fossil evidence and a limited number of fossil sites. However, trace fossils from the Ediacaran- Cambrian period are critical in understanding the evolution and diversification of early animals. These trace fossils, including burrows and trails, provide evidence of ancient sediment colonization by early animals. By analyzing the morphology and distribution of trace fossils in sedimentary rocks, we aim to shed light to the behaviors of ancient animals and gain a better understanding of how they adapted to their environments.​
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The Le Rozel Formation, Normandy, France
Trace fossils from the lower Cambrian Rozel Formation in Normandy (Northwestern France) are exquisitely preserved on top of strata (i.e., epirelief), and are distributed through the entire thickness of the siliciclastic succession of about 200 m. This thick sedimentary succession shows sedimentary environments with ripples generated by unidirectional current processes or by oscillatory processes, such as hummocky cross-stratification (HCS) storm facies, tidal facies with flaser stratification and unidirectional current ripples. New UPb dating of detrital zircon grains suggests a late Ediacaran maximum deposition age of 549 ±â€¯3 Ma. See more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112126
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​The Mahto Formation, Kootenay plain, Alberta, Canada
​Piperock is an emblematic Cambrian ichnofabric, characterized by densely packed vertical burrows commonly attributed to Skolithos ichnotaxa in coastal depositional settings. In Western Canada (precisely in Kootenay Plains Ecological Plains Alberta), the lower Cambrian Gog group exposes an extensive sequence ca. 600 m medium to thick beds of quartzose sandstones. The pipe rocks are within the Mahto Fm. stratigraphically on top of the McNaughton Formation that unconformably overlies deep-water shale and sandstone of the Neoproterozoic upper unit of the Miette Group. See more here: https://doi.org/10.1144/SP556-2024-78
Trace fossils preserved on top of the bedding planes from The Le Rozel Formation
Cambrian piperocks.
Quantitative analysis of horizontal bioturbation, Brioverian, France
We investigated the relative 2D bioturbation rate of upper Brioverian bedding plane surfaces using a quantitative analysis of the simple, horizontal ichnofossils (e.g. Helminthoidichnites, Helminthopsis and Gordia). A quantitative approach is used to provide a relative overview of the surface bioturbation density and at the same time, to compare and discuss the different behaviors of the early metazoans. See more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annpal.2022.102543
Scale bars: 2cm.