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Information - SSP14 Fossil Lagerstätten and exceptional biotas: key to understanding past ecosystems and biological interactions (co-listed in BG) (co-sponsored by PalAss)
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Event Information |
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Fossil Lagerstätten preserve sclerotized, soft-bodied organisms and trace fossils that are not otherwise preserved in the usual fossil record. These «evolutionary windows» offer not only an exceptional record of ancient biodiversity but also provide the unique opportunity to reconstruct past biological systems at the level of organisms, communities and ecosystem, with remarkable accuracy. Precise information on the functioning of past ecosystems is crucial and prerequisite to the study of major scientific issues such as the impact of environmental perturbations (climatic variations, changes in ocean/atmosphere chemistry) on global biological systems, biotic recoveries, and evolutionary processes.
The purpose of this session will be to highlight current research strategies both analytical and methodological that provide key-information on the functionning of past ecosystems such as the trophic structure, the energy and biomass transfer, the nutrient and food sources, the animal interactions such as prey-predator relationships, the feeding strategies and the exploitation of ecological niches. We seek submissions on key-steps of the evolution of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, based on the study of exceptional fossil sites. The session is open to all authors whose research involves the following topics :
1) Ediacaran and Cambrian biotas (emergence of metazoans and building-up of modern marine trophic web);
2) Ecospace colonization including deeper water and freshwater niches during the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Era;
3) Role of vertebrates in Mesozoic and Cenozoic ecosystems;
4) Exceptional floras and plant-insect interactions in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems.
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Preliminary List of Solicited Speakers |
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Back to Session Programme
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