Anthropogenic processes alter the completeness and resolution of the marine fossil record

<p class="western" align="left">The youngest fossil record is an indispensable source of data on long-term human impact on marine ecosystems. However, human actions alter not only marine communities and their habitats but also sedimentary and biotic processes controlling the formation of the stratigraphic archives recording those changes. Based on literature data and our own field studies <span lang="en-US">we provide a conceptual framework for understanding the impact of anthropogenic processes on the completeness and spatiotemporal resolution of the fossil record forming on continental shelves. Such processes are diverse and include, among others, changes </span><span lang="en-US">in </span><span lang="en-US">sediment fluxes due to reshaping of alluvial and coastal landscapes, seabed disturbance by bottom trawling and ship traffic, ocean acidification and anoxia, removal of native species, and introduction of invasive ecosystem engineers. These physical, geochemical</span><span lang="en-US">,</span><span lang="en-US"> and biological disturbances can modify sedimentation rates, depth and intensity of sediment mixing, pore water </span><span lang="en-US">saturation state,</span><span lang="en-US"> and preservation potential of </span><span lang="en-US">skeletal remains</span><span lang="en-US">. The resulting taphonomic and stratigraphic signatures can pinpoint historical changes in ecosystem functioning but can also lead to systematic changes in the quality of the record complicating paleoecological and paleoclimatic reconstructions based on the data from sediment cores and surface death assemblages. We highlight the complex feedbacks between </span><span lang="en-US">human</span><span lang="en-US"> impacts on the ecosystem processes and their preservation in the marine stratigraphic record and suggest research strategies that can maximize the informative value of </span><span lang="en-US">the</span><span lang="en-US"> geohistorical data.</span></p>