AN INITIAL UPDATE ON RESEARCH INTO LOCALIZED FAUNAL POPULATION DECLINES FROM MICROFOSSIL AND MACROFOSSIL EVIDENCE IN THE CRETACEOUS EDWARDS GROUP AND THE ANTLERS SANDS, FLUVANNA, TX

In phase 1 of a multi-semester undergraduate research project, we present an update on research being conducted on the fossil fauna of the early Cretaceous Edwards Group and Antlers Sand Units of west Texas from a site in Fluvanna, TX. Initial research has resulted in the creation of a stratigraphic column of the area and identification of both microfauna and macrofaunal populations. In phase 2, statistical analyses of the results will be performed using the Proportional (or percent) Extinction technique and Per-Taxon Extinction technique (MacLeod, 2014). Phase 3 of the project will entail geochemical and depositional characterization of the stratigraphic intervals where population declines occurred to look for causational factors.