Ichnology: Present Trends and Some Future Directions

he field of Ichnology bridges the gap between the areas of paleontology and sedimentology, but has connections to many subdisciplines within these areas. Biogenic structures record the behavior of their tracemakers and provide valuable information in paleoecologic and paleoenvironmental analysis. As in situ ethologic structures, trace fossils or ichnofossils yield valuable insights into the paleoecology of ancient benthic communities and the environmental dynamics of depositional systems. Ichnology is truly a multifaceted field, and a broad selection of its facets is represented in the 28 papers of this volume. The papers are the product of Ichnia 2004, the First International Congress on Ichnology, convened by Jorge F. Genise and held from 19 to 23 April 2004 at the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Patagonia, Argentina. Seven papers connected with the congress, containing ichnotaxonomy, were published separately, in Ichnos, volume 13, issue 4, edited by J.F. Genise, R.N. Melchor, R.G. Netto, and A.K. Rindsberg. Several symposium volumes, books, and short-course notes have been published in recent years (Pemberton et al., 2001; Buatois et al., 2002; Kowalewski and Kelley, 2002; Hasiotis, 2002; Kelley et al., 2003; Buatois and Mángano, 2003; McIlroy, 2004; Webby et al., 2004; Miller, 2007; Seilacher, 2007), and ichnology can be considered a particularly active research area in steady growth. The 28 papers herein are arranged in five groups that reveal the broad scope of ichnology. One of the aims of Ichnia 2004 was to gather together ichnologists covering different backgrounds and having different interests. The underlying philosophy of the meeting was to explore the multiple aspects of ichnology, trying to establish links between the different subfields. Accordingly, there was a conscious effort to look for common themes while enjoying diversity at the same time. This book attempts to reflect the spirit of that meeting. It is devoted to exploring the potential of biogenic structures in a wide variety of fields, such as paleoecology, sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and evolutionary paleoecology. In doing so we hope to reflect this more integrated view of ichnology that intends to construct, extend, or fortify existing bridges between different subfields, such as paleoichnology and neoichnology, vertebrate and invertebrate ichnology, benthic ecology, coprology, and soft- and hard- substrate ichnology. A long time ago, a journalist asked a jazzmusician about where jazz was going. The answer was “If I knew that, I would already be there”. There is an implicit risk in writing introductions that attempt to detect current trends and decipher future directions. We tackle that challenge here.