Editing Taphonomy (section)

=== Paleontology ===
One motivation behind taphonomy is to understand biases present in the [[fossil]] record better. Fossils are ubiquitous in sedimentary rocks, yet [[Paleontology|paleontologist]]s cannot draw the most accurate conclusions about the lives and ecology of the fossilized organisms without knowing about the processes involved in their fossilization. For example, if a fossil assemblage contains more of one type of fossil than another, one can infer either that the organism was present in greater numbers, or that its remains were more resistant to decomposition.

During the late twentieth century, taphonomic data began to be applied to other paleontological subfields such as [[paleobiology]], [[paleoceanography]], [[ichnology]] (the study of [[trace fossil]]s) and [[biostratigraphy]]. By coming to understand the [[oceanographic]] and [[Ethology|ethological]] implications of observed taphonomic patterns, paleontologists have been able to provide new and meaningful interpretations and correlations that would have otherwise remained obscure in the [[fossil record]]. In the marine environment, taphonomy, specifically [[aragonite]] loss,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cherns |first1=Lesley |last2=Wheeley |first2=James R. |last3=Wright |first3=V. Paul |chapter=Taphonomic Bias in Shelly Faunas Through Time: Early Aragonitic Dissolution and Its Implications for the Fossil Record |title=Taphonomy |series=Topics in Geobiology |date=2010 |volume=32 |pages=79–105 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-8643-3_3|isbn=978-90-481-8642-6 }}</ref> poses a major challenge in reconstructing past environments from the modern,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bialik |first1=Or M. |last2=Coletti |first2=Giovanni |last3=Mariani |first3=Luca |last4=Commissario |first4=Lucrezi |last5=Desbiolles |first5=Fabien |last6=Meroni |first6=Agostino Niyonkuru |title=Availability and type of energy regulate the global distribution of neritic carbonates |journal=Scientific Reports |date=11 November 2023 |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=19687 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-47029-4|doi-access=free |pmid=37952059 |pmc=10640608 |bibcode=2023NatSR..1319687B |hdl=10281/453746 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> notably in settings such as [[carbonate platform]]s.