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Applications of Paleoenvironmental Techniques in Estuarine Studies (Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research #Volume 20)
By Kaarina Weckström, Krystyna M. Saunders, Peter A. Gell, C. Gregory Skilbeck. 2017
The aim of this edited volume is to introduce the scientific community to paleoenvironmental studies of estuaries to highlight…
the types of information that can be obtained from such studies and to promote the use of paleoenvironmental studies in estuarine management P P Readers will learn about the the application of different paleoecological approaches used in estuaries that develop our understanding of their response to natural and human influences Particular attention is given to the essential steps required for undertaking a paleoecological study in particular with regard to site selection core extraction and chronological techniques followed by the range of indicators that can be used A series of case studies are discussed in the book to demonstrate how paleoecological studies can be used to address key questions and to sustainably manage these important coastal environments in the future This book will appeal to professional scientists interested in estuarine studies and or paleoenvironmental research as well as estuarine managers who are interested in the incorporation of paleoenvironmental research into their management programsPaleoecology
By David J. Bottjer. 1955
Paleoecology is a discipline that uses evidence from fossils to provide an understanding of ancient environments and the ecological history…
of life through geological time. This text covers the fundamental approaches that have provided the foundation for present paleoecological understanding, and outlines new research areas in paleoecology for managing future environmental and ecological change. Topics include the use of actualism in paleoecology, development of paleoecological models for paleoenvironmental reconstruction, taphonomy and exceptional fossil preservation, evolutionary paleoecology and ecological change through time, and conservation paleoecology. Data from studies of invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and microfossils, with added emphasis on bioturbation and microbial sedimentary structures, are discussed. Examples from marine and terrestrial environments are covered, with a particular focus on periods of great ecological change, such as the Precambrian-Cambrian transition and intervals of mass extinction. Readership: This book is designed for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in the earth and biological sciences, as well as researchers and applied scientists in a range of related disciplines.The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China
By Sigrid Schmalzer. 2008
In the 1920s an international team of scientists and miners unearthed the richest evidence of human evolution the world had…
ever seen: Peking Man. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in the movement to bring science to the people. In a new state with twin goals of crushing “superstition” and establishing a socialist society, the story of human evolution was the first lesson in Marxist philosophy offered to the masses. At the same time, even Mao’s populist commitment to mass participation in science failed to account for the power of popular culture—represented most strikingly in legends about the Bigfoot-like Wild Man—to reshape ideas about human nature. The People’s Peking Manis a skilled social history of twentieth-century Chinese paleoanthropology and a compelling cultural—and at times comparative—history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. By focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics,The People’s Peking Manoffers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.Scenes from Deep Time
By Martin J. Rudwick. 1992
How did the earth look in prehistoric times? Scientists and artists collaborated during the half-century prior to the publication of…
Darwin's Origin of Species to produce the first images of dinosaurs and the world they inhabited. Their interpretations, informed by recent fossil discoveries, were the first efforts to represent the prehistoric world based on sources other than the Bible. Martin J. S. Rudwick presents more than a hundred rare illustrations from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to explore the implications of reconstructing a past no one has ever seen.Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth
By Andrew H. Knoll. 2003
Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites--such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of…
life, ancient animals, even the trilobites, form only the half-billion-year tip of a nearly four-billion-year iceberg. Andrew Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, presenting a compelling new explanation for the emergence of biological novelty. The very latest discoveries in paleontology--many of them made by the author and his students--are integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science to forge a broad understanding of how the biological diversity that surrounds us came to be. Moving from Siberia to Namibia to the Bahamas, Knoll shows how life and environment have evolved together through Earth's history. Innovations in biology have helped shape our air and oceans, and, just as surely, environmental change has influenced the course of evolution, repeatedly closing off opportunities for some species while opening avenues for others. Readers go into the field to confront fossils, enter the lab to discern the inner workings of cells, and alight on Mars to ask how our terrestrial experience can guide exploration for life beyond our planet. Along the way, Knoll brings us up-to-date on some of science's hottest questions, from the oldest fossils and claims of life beyond the Earth to the hypothesis of global glaciation and Knoll's own unifying concept of ''permissive ecology.'' In laying bare Earth's deepest biological roots, Life on a Young Planet helps us understand our own place in the universe--and our responsibility as stewards of a world four billion years in the making. In a new preface, Knoll describes how the field has broadened and deepened in the decade since the book's original publication.Hell Creek, Montana
By Lowell Dingus. 1998
Hell Creek, Montana, is one of the most windswept, hardscrabble locales in the American West-a quiet town of ranchers, farmers,…
and others who seek the beauty of the open spaces. It is also the unlikely setting of some of the most fascinating events in the history of the United States and North America. From the first-ever discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex to Lewis and Clark's landmark expedition; from the Freeman compound standoff to Sitting Bull and Little Big Horn, Hell Creek has been a central player in the events of the last two hundred years-and the last 200 million.Now, with grace and quiet wit, renowned paleontologist and writer Lowell Dingus takes us on a tour of this desolate, beautiful, out-of-the-way place and illuminates its inhabitants, geology, paleontology, and surprising place in history. Nature lovers, dinosaur buffs, and people fascinated with the turbulent history--both ancient and modern--of the American West will find much to delight them in this journey to Hell Creek.Conversation Pieces
By Mark Carnall. 2013
This book, beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photography, is a celebration of UCL's unique collections, with leading academics from the…
university invited to select and write about an object each found inspiring. From a jar of moles to an Egyptian unguent spoon, a finger X-ray to some prehistoric cereal grains, their choices were often surprising, their responses always fascinating.Ichnology
By M. Gabriela Mángano, Luis Buatois. 2011
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.The Origin of Higher Taxa
By T. S. Kemp. 2016
In the grand sweep of evolution, the origin of radically new kinds of organisms in the fossil record is the…
result of a relatively simple process: natural selection marching through the ages. Or is it? Does Darwinian evolution acting over a sufficiently long period of time really offer a complete explanation, or are unusual genetic events and particular environmental and ecological circumstances also involved? With The Origin of Higher Taxa, Tom Kemp sifts through the layers of paleobiological, genetic, and ecological evidence on a quest to answer this essential, game-changing question of biology. Looking beyond the microevolutionary force of Darwinian natural selection, Kemp enters the realm of macroevolution, or evolution above the species level. From the origin of mammals to the radiation of flowering plants, these large-scale patterns--such as the rise of novel organismal design, adaptive radiations, and lineage extinctions--encompass the most significant trends and transformations in evolution. As macroevolution cannot be studied by direct observation and experiment, scientists have to rely on the outcome of evolution as evidence for the processes at work, in the form of patterns of species appearances and extinctions in a spotty fossil record, and through the nature of species extant today. Marshalling a wealth of new fossil and molecular evidence and increasingly sophisticated techniques for their study, Kemp here offers a timely and original reinterpretation of how higher taxa such as arthropods, mollusks, mammals, birds, and whales evolved--a bold new take on the history of life.An Ape’s View of Human Evolution
By Peter Andrews. 2015
Our closest living relatives are the chimpanzee and bonobo. We share many characteristics with them, but our lineages diverged millions…
of years ago. Who in fact was our last common ancestor? Bringing together ecology, evolution, genetics, anatomy and geology, this book provides a new perspective on human evolution. What can fossil apes tell us about the origins of human evolution? Did the last common ancestor of apes and humans live in trees or on the ground? What did it eat, and how did it survive in a world full of large predators? Did it look anything like living apes? Andrews addresses these questions and more to reconstruct the common ancestor and its habitat. Synthesising thirty-five years of work on both ancient environments and fossil and modern ape anatomy, this book provides unique new insights into the evolutionary processes that led to the origins of the human lineage.The Geology of Australia
By David Johnson. 2009
The Geology of Australia provides a vivid and informative account of the evolution of the Australian continent over the last…
4400 million years. Starting with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it goes on to cover the warm seas, volcanism and episodes of mountain building, which formed the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, the times of previous glaciations, the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia, and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines. Separate chapters cover the origin of the Great Barrier Reef, the basalts in Eastern Australia, and the geology of the Solar System. This second edition features two new chapters, covering the evolution of life on Earth while emphasising the fossil record in Australia, and providing a geological perspective on climate change. From Uluru to the Great Dividing Range, from earthquakes to dinosaurs, from sapphires to the stars The Geology of Australia is a comprehensive exploration of the timeless forces that have shaped this continent.Morphometrics for Nonmorphometricians
By Ashraf M.T. Elewa. 2010
Morphometrics is concerned with the study of variations and change in the form (size and shape) of organisms or objects…
adding a quantitative element to descriptions and thereby facilitating the comparison of different objects and organisms. This volume provides an introduction to morphometrics in a clear and simple way without recourse to complex mathematics and statistics. This introduction is followed by a series of case studies describing the variety of applications of morphometrics from paleontology and evolutionary ecology to archaeological artifacts analysis. This is followed by a presentation of future applications of morphometrics and state of the art software for analyzing and comparing shape.Paleogene Fossil Birds
By Gerald Mayr. 2009
The present book is the first detailed review of the Paleogene avian fossil record on a worldwide scale. Numerous well-preserved…
fossil bird remains from this geological period, which covers the time span from the end of the Mesozoic era to the beginning of the Miocene, have been described in the past two decades. Some of these not only provide information on morphological transformations in the evolutionary history of the extant avian taxa, but are also of great significance for an understanding of their historical biogeography. Others represent extinct taxa which sometimes show a bizarre morphology not found in modern birds, such as the giant pseudo-toothed birds which reached wingspans up to six meters. The reader is introduced to basic morphological features of the various groups which, as far as possible, are placed into a phylogenetic context in the light of current hypotheses on the interrelationships of extant birds. In a concluding chapter the biogeographical significance of Paleogene fossil birds and possible reasons for faunal changes during the Paleogene are detailed. As such, the book not only aims at providing an overview for specialists, but may also help students of other fields of vertebrate paleontology to better understand Paleogene ecosystems.Animal Teeth and Human Tools
By Christy G. Turner II Nicolai D. Ovodov, Olga V. Pavlova, Christy G. Turner, Nicolai D. Ovodov. 2013
The culmination of more than a decade of fieldwork and related study, this unique book uses analyses of perimortem taphonomy…
in Ice Age Siberia to propose a new hypothesis for the peopling of the New World. The authors present evidence based on examinations of more than 9000 pieces of human and carnivore bone from 30 late Pleistocene archaeological and palaeontological sites, including cave and open locations, which span more than 2000 miles from the Ob River in the West to the Sea of Japan in the East. The observed bone damage signatures suggest that the conventional prehistory of Siberia needs revision and, in particular, that cave hyenas had a significant influence on the lives of Ice Age Siberians. The findings are supported by more than 250 photographs, which illustrate the bone damage described and provide a valuable insight into the context and landscape of the fieldwork for those unfamiliar with Siberia.Plants Invade the Land: Evolutionary and Environmental Perspectives
By Dianne Edwards, Patricia G. Gensel. 2001
What do we now know about the origins of plants on land, from an evolutionary and an environmental perspective? The…
essays in this collection present a synthesis of our present state of knowledge, integrating current information in paleobotany with physical, chemical, and geological data.Rhodolith/Maërl Beds: A Global Perspective
By Rafael Riosmena-Rodríguez, Wendy Nelson, Julio Aguirre. 2017
Rhodolith beds are recognized internationally as a unique ecosystem, and they are the focus of this interdisciplinary book. These marine…
beds occur worldwide, from the tropics to the poles, ranging in depth from intertidal to deep subtidal habitats and they are also represented in extensive fossil deposits. In the light of international interest in rhodoliths and maerl concerning their role in coastal ecosystems and with respect to biodiversity, fisheries, and the production of sediment, this book provides the most comprehensive view possible. As readers will discover, rhodoliths/maerl are fundamental to a range of ecological processes, acting as ecosystem engineers including playing key roles in recruitment and providing nursery habitats. Rhodoliths/maerl have been used commercially in some parts of the world, and they are understood to be vulnerable to coastal modifications and human-induced change, and hence their status may serve as an indicator of ecosystem health. Rhodoliths/maerl contribute to global carbon budgets although the extent remains to be evaluated, as do the potential impacts of changing global climates and ocean acidification.Annerton Pit
By Peter Dickinson. 2015
A blind boy and his brother set out on a motorcycle in search of their ghost-hunting grandfather It all starts…
with the postman. Jake cannot see the mail, but he is an excellent listener, and he can tell by the sound the mail makes when it hits the floor that bad news is coming. At the top of the pile is a very thin letter rejecting Jake's brother, Martin, from every college he applied to. Even worse, there is no news from their grandfather, an eccentric ghost hunter whose supernatural investigations have carried him into the wilds of northern England. Martin cashes in his college savings to buy a secondhand motorcycle, and the boys set out to find their grandfather. It is a trip that will change their lives forever. This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Peter Dickinson including rare images from the author's collection.The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology
By Arthur C. Aufderheide, Conrado Rodríguez-Martín. 1998
This book was first published in 1998. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology is a major reference work for all…
those interested in identification of disease in human remains. Many diseases leave characteristic lesions and deformities on human bones, teeth and soft tissues that can be identified many years after death. This comprehensive volume includes most conditions producing effects recognizable with the unaided eye. Detailed lesion descriptions and over 300 photographs facilitate disease recognition and each condition is placed in context with discussion of its history, antiquity, etiology, epidemiology, geography, and natural history. Diseases affecting the soft tissues are also included as these are commonly present in mummified remains. This book will be an indispensable resource for paleopathologists, anthropologists, physicians, archaeologists, demographers, and medical historians alike.Biogeography of the Quaternary Molluscs of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences)
By Sergio Martínez, Claudia J. del Río, Alejandra Rojas. 2012
The Quaternary comprises a brief time in the Earth s history and apart from a few exceptions molluscan…
assemblages recovered from exposures along the coast of Southwestern South America Southern Brazil Uruguay Argentina are essentially the same than those that inhabit the region today leading to the assumption that no important change in the distribution of the faunas since Pleistocene times has occurred However the good taxonomic and temporal resolution reached in the last years allowed us to detect some biogeographic changes although traditional biogeographic units remain the same i e Magellanic and Argentinean Provinces These modifications involve mainly variations in the taxonomic composition of the assemblages and in the southern boundaries of some species distributions extralimital species today retracted northwards These changes are related to southward shifts of the warm waters of the Brazilian Current correlated with global warm peaks This phenomenon was more intense in the Late Pleistocene MIS 5e and in the Holocene between ca 6500-3500 14C yrExperimental Approaches to Understanding Fossil Organisms
By Daniel I. Hembree, Brian F. Platt, Jon J. Smith. 2014
Paleontologists and geologists struggle with research questions often complicated by the loss or even absence of key paleobiological and paleoenvironmental…
information. Insight into this missing data can be gained through direct exploration of analogous living organisms and modern environments. Creative, experimental and interdisciplinary treatments of such ancient-Earth analogs form the basis of Lessons from the Living. This volume unites a diverse range of expert paleontologists, neontologists and geologists presenting case studies that cover a spectrum of topics, including functional morphology, taphonomy, environments and organism-substrate interactions.