StratPal: An R package for creating stratigraphic paleobiology modelling pipelines

Abstract

The fossil record is an important source of information to understand biological processes that take place over timescales not accessible to human observation or experiments. Fossil data are not a perfect reflection of past biological change, but a joint expression of stratigraphic, ecological, evolutionary and taphonomic effects. Stratigraphic paleobiology is a field dedicated to identifying these effects and accounting for them. We present StratPal, a R package in which stratigraphic, ecological, evolutionary and taphonomic modules can be combined into modelling pipelines for stratigraphic paleobiology. We describe the types of data that can be modified and transformed using this approach and briefly discuss potential extensions. As working examples, we show how the pipeline can be used to model clustering of last occurrences at hiatuses and condensation surfaces, leading to artefactual ‘extinction events’ caused by stratigraphic gaps.