Microfossils Through Time: an Introduction PDF Download

Author: M. Dan Georgescu
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783510654130
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Microfossils through Time: An Introduction is the first textbook of micropaleontology addressing undergraduate students. It presents an introduction to each group of microfossils, from bacteria to microscopical debris of vertebrates, demonstrating the broad range of study of this subdiscipline of paleontology. Not only those groups of microscopic fossils, which are traditionally considered relevant to micropaleontology, are presented (e.g., dinoflagellates, charophytes, radiolarians, spores and pollen, ostracods, chitinozoans, etc), but also others that often occur in micropaleontological samples (e.g., bivalves, echinoderms, fish debris, mammalian teeth, etc). Each of the more than forty microfossil groups are presented in an order that follows the paleontological classification, with a history of study and a variety of data on morphology, living habitats, stratigraphical distribution and their evolution, as inferred from the fossil record. The text is intended as the starting point for a new generation of textbooks that presents micropaleontology in a new structure capable of assuring an efficient transfer of expertise to the younger generations of scientists. This book will help those making their first steps in micropaleontology to develop defensible models of what microfossils are, laying the foundations for fundamental and applied studies. It introduces micropaleontology as a tool for conducting applied studies in biostratigraphy, paleoecology and for paleobathymetric estimates, basin analysis and reconstructing geological history, or related to sequence stratigraphy. It also addresses students and specialists in biology and genetics, offering a solid data base to be integrated with the other two principal components of the triad of sciences that studies the evolution of life on Earth.

Author: Patrick De Wever
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421436736
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
De Wever's ode to the invisible world around us allows readers to peer directly into a minute microcosm with massive implications, even traversing eons to show us how life arose on Earth.

Author: M. Dan Georgescu
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527575314
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This textbook will appeal to students and graduates making their first steps in the application of both microfossils and stratigraphy. It presents, in detail, the historical development of microfossil biostratigraphy, from its birth to the emergence of sequence stratigraphy, including its roots in classical biostratigraphy. The interplay between the academic and economical challenges, on one hand, and developments in microfossil biostratigraphy, on the other, is explored thoroughly. The book also presents an introduction to the scientific concepts used in microfossil biostratigraphy practice, and the uses in microbiostratigraphy of 25 groups of microfossils, such as algae, protistans, reproductive plant debris, invertebrates, chordates and vertebrates, and microproblematica groups. It also provides a numerical method to calculate the biostratigraphical resolution of these microfossil groups.

Author: Michael J. Benton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118685407
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1001

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Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive overview of the science of the history of life. Paleobiologists bring many analytical tools to bear in interpreting the fossil record and the book introduces the latest techniques, from multivariate investigations of biogeography and biostratigraphy to engineering analysis of dinosaur skulls, and from homeobox genes to cladistics. All the well-known fossil groups are included, including microfossils and invertebrates, but an important feature is the thorough coverage of plants, vertebrates and trace fossils together with discussion of the origins of both life and the metazoans. All key related subjects are introduced, such as systematics, ecology, evolution and development, stratigraphy and their roles in understanding where life came from and how it evolved and diversified. Unique features of the book are the numerous case studies from current research that lead students to the primary literature, analytical and mathematical explanations and tools, together with associated problem sets and practical schedules for instructors and students. “..any serious student of geology who does not pick this book off the shelf will be putting themselves at a huge disadvantage. The material may be complex, but the text is extremely accessible and well organized, and the book ought to be essential reading for palaeontologists at undergraduate, postgraduate and more advanced levels—both in Britain as well as in North America.” Falcon-Lang, H., Proc. Geol. Assoc. 2010 “...this is an excellent introduction to palaeontology in general. It is well structured, accessibly written and pleasantly informative .....I would recommend this as a standard reference text to all my students without hesitation.” David Norman Geol Mag 2010 Companion website This book includes a companion website at: www.blackwellpublishing.com/paleobiology The website includes: · An ongoing database of additional Practical’s prepared by the authors · Figures from the text for downloading · Useful links for each chapter · Updates from the authors

Author: Daniel John Jones
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Micropaleontology
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description

Author: B.U. Haq
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080534961
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
This beautifully illustrated text book, with state-of-the-art illustrations, is useful not only for an introduction to the subject, but also for the application of marine microfossils in paleoceanographic, paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic analyses. The recent revival of interest in marine micropaleontology worldwide in the wake of the development of sequence stratigraphic models has led to the decision to reissue the volume in its original, but paperback, form. The ideas expressed in various chapters of this second edition remain as valid today as they were when the book was first issued. The text, however, includes an updated Phanerozoic geologic time which has been considerably modified since the 1980s.

Author: Pratul Kumar Saraswati
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319145746
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
This book will help readers learn the basic skills needed to study microfossils especially those without a formal background in paleontology. It details key principles, explains how to identify different groups of microfossils, and provides insight into their potential applications in solving geologic problems. Basic principles are addressed with examples that explore the strengths and limitations of microfossils and their geological records. This overview provides an understanding of taphonomy and quality of the fossil records, biomineralization and biogeochemistry, taxonomy, concepts of species, and basic concepts of ecology. Readers learn about the major groups of microfossils, including their morphology, ecology, and geologic history. Coverage includes: foraminifera, ostracoda, coccolithophores, pteropods, radiolaria, diatoms, silicoflagellates, conodonts, dinoflagellates, acritarch, and spores and pollens. In this coverage, marine microfossils, and particularly foraminifera, are discussed in more detail compared with the other groups as they continue to play a major role in most scientific investigations. Among the various tracers of earth history, microfossils provide the most diverse kinds of information to earth scientists. This richly illustrated volume will help students and professionals understand microfossils, and provide insight on how to work with them to better understand evolution of life, and age and the paleoenvironment of sedimentary strata.

Author: Ronald E. Martin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461541670
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
Microfossils are ideally suited to environmental studies because their short generation times allow them to respond rapidly to environmental change. This book represents an assessment of the progress made in environmental micropalaeontology and sets out future research directions. The taxa studied are mainly foraminifera, but include arcellaceans, diatoms, dinoflagellates, and ostracodes. The papers themselves range from reviews of applications of particular taxa to specific case studies.

Author: Thomas N Taylor
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123877547
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists. First book devoted to the whole spectrum of the fossil record of fungi, ranging from Proterozoic fossils to the role of fungi in rock weathering Detailed discussion of how fossil fungi are preserved and studied Extensive bibliography with more than 2000 entries Where possible, fungal fossils are placed in a modern systematic context Each chapter within the systematic treatment of fungal lineages introduced with an easy-to-understand presentation of the main characters that define extant members Extensive glossary of more than 700 entries that define both biological, geological, and mycological terminology

Author: J. William Schopf
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691237573
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
One of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 550 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in 1993 when William Schopf identified fossilized microorganisms three and a half billion years old. This startling find opened up a vast period of time--some eighty-five percent of Earth's history--to new research and new ideas about life's beginnings. In this book, William Schopf, a pioneer of modern paleobiology, tells for the first time the exciting and fascinating story of the origins and earliest evolution of life and how that story has been unearthed. Gracefully blending his personal story of discovery with the basics needed to understand the astonishing science he describes, Schopf has produced an introduction to paleobiology for the interested reader as well as a primer for beginning students in the field. He considers such questions as how did primitive bacteria, pond scum, evolve into the complex life-forms found at the beginning of the Cambrian Period? How do scientists identify ancient microbes and what do these tiny creatures tell us about the environment of the early Earth? (And, in a related chapter, Schopf discusses his role in the controversy that swirls around recent claims of fossils in the famed meteorite from Mars.) Like all great teachers, Schopf teaches the non-specialist enough about his subject along the way that we can easily follow his descriptions of the geology, biology, and chemistry behind these discoveries. Anyone interested in the intriguing questions of the origins of life on Earth and how those origins have been discovered will find this story the best place to start.