Favosiles forbesi as a probable opportunistic species in favositids

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Favosites forbesi (Milne-Edwards and Haime) is recognized as a probable opportunistic species of favositids in the Upper Silurian West Point Reef Complex of Gaspe, Quebec, Canada. Opportunistic species are physiologically generalists adapted to a wide range of environments, but most common in young, unstable habitats with high environmental stress. Favosites forbesi has similar ecologic distributions. It occurs in the many facies in the West Point Reef Complex, but most commonly in some facies interpreted as unstable depositional environments, and frequently shows large changes in population size over time and space. High morphologic variation within species has also been pointed out as a characteristic feature of opportunistic species. This has not always been recognized in Favosites forbesi because "splitters" have erected numerous new species, usually on the basis of small number of specimens. However, study of many individuals, within several populations, especially in the Upper Reef Complex, indicates that important morphologic characteristic such as the colony size and growth form and the size of corallites although highly variable, exhibit a continuous and gradational spectrum of values. Non-morphologic characteristics such as stratigraphic distribution and population dynamics should also be used in species discrmination as shown by studies in Recent corals, and these have been used in the definition of Favosites forbesi.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 목차
• Introduction
• Distribution of Favosites Forbesi in The Upper Reef Complex
• Morphologic Variations in Favosites Forbesi
• Growth form and size of colony
• Size of corallites
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• Abstract