PALEOECOLOGY
cod. 1005913

Academic year 2014/15
1° year of course - First semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Paleontologia e paleoecologia (GEO/01)
Field
Discipline geologiche e paleontologiche
Type of training activity
Characterising
47 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

- Definitions 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

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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., 2006. 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

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