Marine benthic (bottom-dwelling) invertebrates of the Silurian Period belonged to persistent assemblages, or communities, that commonly conformed to ecological zonation. One way in which zonation expresses itself is through bathymetric gradients (changes in light, temperature, salinity, and pressure with depth).Paleoecologists studying in Wales, Norway, Estonia, Siberia, South China, and North America have used very similar models to explain the geographic distribution of Silurian communities. Some of these communities were adapted to life under conditions of stronger sunlight and more vigorous wave energy in shallow nearshore waters; others were restricted to darker, quieter environments in deeper offshore waters.
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