PALEOECOLOGY
cod. 02626

Academic year 2011/12
2° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Paleontologia e paleoecologia (GEO/01)
Field
Discipline geologiche e paleontologiche
Type of training activity
Characterising
48 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in - - -

Learning objectives

The course deals with marine paleoecology and its objective is to show how fossils can be used for paleoenviromental reconstruction at level of individual, population and community.

Prerequisites

- - -

Course unit content

-Basic concepts and subdivision of paleoecology; relationships between ecology and paleoecology;
-Basic concepts of ecology and the marine ecosystem (physical environments, life modes and trophic strategies of marine organisms);
-Environmental control on organism distribution in the marine environments;
-Taxonomic uniformism and functional morphology;
-Fossils as environmental indicators;
-Paleoenviromental reconstruction at population and community levels;
-Quantitative analysis of fossils assemblages
-Applications: examples of paleoenviromental/paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions based on foraminifera.

Full programme

- - -

Bibliography

1)Brenchley P.J. & Harper D.A.T., 1998. Palaeoecology: ecosystem, environments and evolution. Chapman & Hall.
2)Goldring R., 1991. Fossils in the field. Information potential and analysis. Longman Scientific &Technical.
3)Raffi S. & Serpagli E., 1993. Introduzione alla Paleontologia. Utet.
4)Murray J.W., 1993. Ecology and paleoecology of benthic foraminifera. Longman Scientific &Technical.
5)Murray J., 2006. Ecology and Applications of benthic foraminifera. Cambridge University Press.
6)Pinet P.R., 1998. Invitation to Oceanography. Jones & Bartlett.
7)Odum E.P., 1988. Basi di Ecologia. Piccin Editore.

Teaching methods

oral and practical lesson

Assessment methods and criteria

Oral exam

Other information

- - -