Quantitative paleoecological analyses and implications of fossil assemblages of the Late Neogene Kangkou Limestone, Coastal Range, eastern Taiwan

The Late Neogene Kangkou and Tungho limestones of the Coastal Range of eastern Taiwan contain diverse fossil assemblages, but their paleoecology has not been quantitatively studied before. Cluster and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMS) analyses were conducted using data from eight localities. Six fossil assemblages are recognized, with some overlap between them: Planktic Foraminifera (PF), Benthic Foraminifera (BF), Encrusting Foraminifera (EF), Bryozoan-Echinoderm-Algae-Mollusk (BEAM), Algae (A), and Coral (C) assemblages. The first two major axes of the NMS analysis can be interpreted as primarily representing water depth and substrate type. These assemblages represent various shallow marine settings with low to moderately high biodiversity.