TABLE 1— Characteristics of differentiated environments at Fernandez Bay, San Salvador Island, Bahamas.

Fig. 7.— Aggregated results of taphonomic grade counts as histograms for (left) Graham's Harbor, and (right) Fernandez Bay. A ) Surface samples. B ) Subsurface samples.

Fig . 4. Drilling intensities among the three sample sites Sand Dollar Beach, Bamboo Point, and Fernandez Bay (north to south). N = sample size.

Table 4.— Descriptive statistics for taphonomic indices among collected foraminifera in aggregated samples, for both surface and subsurface samples. ‘GH'=Graham's Harbor; ‘FB'=Fernandez Bay .

Fig . 1. Map of San Salvador, the Bahamas. The map shows the three sample sites Sand Dollar Beach, Bamboo Point, and Fernandez Bay (north to south) on the west coast of the island.

Fig. 1.— Location map. A ) The position of San Salvador relative to the Bahamas platform. B ) Sampling sites (filled stars) for observational studies (‘G.H.'=Graham's Harbor, ‘F.B.'=Fernandez Bay). C ) Sample site (open star) for experimental study.

Table 3.— Descriptive statistics for taphonomic indices among collected foraminifera in individual samples, for both surface and subsurface samples. ‘G'=Graham's Harbor; ‘F'=Fernandez Bay. ‘SD'=standard deviation; ‘Simpson's'=Simpsons diversity index; ‘H'=Shannon's diversity index .

) Holiday Track D) Grotto Beach E) Rocky Point F) Fernandez Bay G) French Bay H) Rice Bay I) Barkers Point J) The Gulf.

Point (SB); (10) Rocky Point (RP); (11) Little Lake (LL); (12) Fernandez Bay (FB). GRC  =  Gerace Research Centre.

Fig. 6.— Sampling strategy and individual results of taphonomic grade counts (as histograms) for sampling localities at Fernandez Bay, illustrating environmental characteristics of each sampling point. Samples with ‘-1′ suffix indicate those taken from the subsurface. Taphonomic grades assigned

assemblage collected from the rocky substrate of Fernandez Bay. D) General view of the middle Holocene paleosol at North Point. E) Detailed view of middle Holocene shells from North Point. F) General view of the middle Holocene deposit at Hanna Bay. G) Detailed view of Upper Pleistocene shells from The Gulf

of smaller and larger tests containing drill holes. C ) Box-whisker plot showing test length among the sample sites. Test length around Bamboo Point and Sand Dollar Beach are not statistically different, but both differ significantly from test length in Fernandez Bay. Key: letters = post-hoc classification

F igure 3— Taphonomy and species abundances of land snail shells from San Salvador Island, Bahamas. A) Average taphonomic features of dead shells by locality (rocky sites: HardB  =  Hard Bargain, FB  =  Fernandez Bay, FH  =  Fortune Hill, DB  =  Dim Bay, PC  =  Pigeon Creek; sandy sites: RP

that drill hole widths vary among sample sites. Drill holes from Bamboo Point and Sand Dollar Beach are not statistically different in width, whereas drill holes from Fernandez Bay are significantly smaller. Key: letters = post-hoc classification; N = sample size; min = minimum drill hole width (mm); max

varians) (photograph by Jeanine L. Ash, University of Arizona). E) Sargassum meadow, shallow subtidal, Fernandez Bay (photograph by Janina Dynowski, University of Tübingen). F) A rocky intertidal surface covered by multiple species of snails, including both adults and juveniles (photograph by Jackie

Figure 5. Seismic records of Patagonian fjord/bay areas: (A) Seismic line from Golfo Elefantes, Gualas glacier study area ( Fernandez et al., 2011b ); (B) seismic line from Europa Fjord, Europa glacier study area; and (C) seismic line from Marinelli glacier study area in Bahia Ainsworth