The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation

The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation

Author: Robert Riding

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13: 9780231106139

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The Cambrian radiation was the explosive evolution of marine life that started 550,000,000 years ago. It ranks as one of the most important episodes in Earth history. This key event in the history of life on our planet changed the marine biosphere and its sedimentary environment forever, requiring a complex interplay of wide-ranging biologic and nonbiologic processes. The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation offers a comprehensive and surprising picture of the Earth at that ancient time. The book contains contributions from thirty-three authors hailing from ten countries and will be of interest to paleontologists, geologists, biologists, and other researchers interested in the global Earth-life system.


The Garden of Ediacara

The Garden of Ediacara

Author: Mark A. McMenamin

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780231105590

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Including twenty-two photographs and more than fifty drawings of these strikingly beautiful early life forms, this book presents a mesmerizing documentary of a major scientific discovery: the oldest animal fossils ever discovered.


Early Life on Earth

Early Life on Earth

Author: Stefan Bengtson

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 642

ISBN-13: 0231080883

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This study is organized around three themes: the origin and early diversification of life during the Archean Eon; the maturation of life and the Earth during the long Proterozoic Eon; and the explosive diversification of multicellular life that marks the dawn of the Phanerozoic Eon. The contributors discuss the coherence of history, the combinatorial generation of taxonomic diversity, early Metazoan evolution, and the Cambrian explosion.


Trace Fossil Analysis

Trace Fossil Analysis

Author: Adolf Seilacher

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-04-29

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 3540472266

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This definitive textbook by a renowned field observer and analyst of trace fossils concentrates on the most distinctive examples, mostly made by infaunal invertebrates in originally soft sediments. It covers the whole geologic column and ranges from deep-sea to shallow-marine and continental environments. The book is designed to foster interpretative skills using the author's own drawings. They are thematically grouped in 75 plates that form the core for the descriptive text and annotated references. A glossary of ichnological terms is also provided. This book’s author is perhaps the world’s most acknowledged expert in the field of trace fossils.


Ichnology

Ichnology

Author: Luis A. Buatois

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-08-11

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1139500643

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Ichnology is the study of traces created in the substrate by living organisms. This is the first book to systematically cover basic concepts and applications in both paleobiology and sedimentology, bridging the gap between the two main facets of the field. It emphasizes the importance of understanding ecologic controls on benthic fauna distribution and the role of burrowing organisms in changing their environments. A detailed analysis of the ichnology of a range of depositional environments is presented using examples from the Precambrian to the recent, and the use of trace fossils in facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy is discussed. The potential for biogenic structures to provide valuable information and solve problems in a wide range of fields is also highlighted. An invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy, this book will also be of interest to industry professionals working in petroleum geoscience.