A TAPHONOMIC STUDY OF LACUSTRINE SUBFOSSIL OSTRACODES AND APPLICATION TO PALEO-LAKE LEVEL: LAKE TANGANYIKA, EAST AFRICA

Subfossil ostracodes accumulated in the surficial sediment of Lake Tanganyika over the past 50 years were analyzed in order to examine relationships between taphonomic and environmental variables. Valves were examined for redox staining, breakage, and abundance, and compared against variables of depth, geography, proximity to river mouth, and total organic carbon. Samples were taken from five northwest-southeast transects, shallow to deep profiles, across the Luiche delta platform in the Kigoma region of Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania. Strong relationships were shown to exist between the taphonomic and environmental variables with this study, revealing a complex system of associations on the delta platform. In particular, a strong correlation between valve breakage and water depth was shown by this research. The regression line produced by this relationship makes it possible to generate a paleo-lake level curve for Lake Tanganyika.