生痕化石是古生物學中極為重要的一門分支，生痕化石是生物活動時於沉積物中所留下的記錄。它不僅可代表生物個體與生存環境間的相互關係；亦可利用生痕化石的群落表現整個環境的物理與化學條件的相對應變化。近年來，生痕化石學的概念廣泛的應用在生物地層學、層序地層學、古氣候學乃至於演化古生態學上，且有著豐碩的成果。整體而言，生痕化石在岩石圈與生物圈的相互作用之間，扮演一重要的角色。台灣北部麓山帶中期中新統至上新統，由於露頭良好、化石含量豐富再加上地層層位處於蓬萊造山運動之前─被動式大陸邊緣，與蓬萊造山運動之後─前陸盆地，二種不同性質的沉積盆地之間，因此吸引許多學者的注意，且貢獻良多。然而上述的諸多成果多集中於生物地層學，沉積學與構造地質學，對於生痕化石作有系統的描述、觀測與討論它的古生態學意義，相關的研究則極少報導。本研究擬利用一年的時間，選定台灣北部濱海公路與大漢溪兩剖面，進行系統性的生痕化石記錄與統計，並配合沉積環境的研究成果，期望能對本區的生痕化石分布與埋藏學相關的古生態意義，作一全面且根本性的探討。
The study of post-depositional biological effects(trace fossils)on sedimentary deposits is known as ichnology. The field encompasses those aspects of organism-substrate interrelationships that focus on how plants and animals leave a record of their activity in the sediment. Owing to their nature, trace fossils can be considered as both paleontological and sedimentological entities, thereby bridging the gap between two of the main subdivisions in sedimentary geology. In the multi-disciplinary field of sedimentary geology, ichnology is playing an important role in the interpretation of biostratigraphic correlation, sedimentary environments, sequence stratigraphic discontinuities, paleoclimate and evolutionary paleoecology. Middle Miocene to Pliocene marine to nonmarine strata are well exposed in the Western Foothill of Northern Taiwan. There are many well-documented data about the biostratigraphic correlation, analyses of depositional environments, and evolutionary histories of sedimentary basin from passive continental margin to foreland basin made by many geologists, contribute a fundamental geologic framework of the Western Foothill. But they are less concerned with, the activity of organisms on and within the sediment(substrate), and discuss those organic sedimentary structures(fossil behavious) represent the responses to the physical and chemical nature of the substrate. The project plans to take one-year period to do a systematic ichnological studies around the Northern Coast and Tahan Chi section, hoping that through the consecutive efforts and integrate the data of body fossil as well as sedimentary facies analysis, ichnofabic distribution and taphonomic significance(paleoecology) in siliciclastic shelf deposits can be better understood.
