Major advances in our understanding of the history of life on Earth have resulted from the study of exceptionally well-preserved fossil sites (Lagerstätten). Study of such sites from around the world and from different periods in geological time can provide a fairly complete picture of the evolution of ecosystems down the ages.With this aim in mind, the authors have brought together succinct summaries of 14 of the better-known fossil Lagerstatten, beautifully illustrated throughout by over 250 colour photographs and diagrams.Following a general introduction to fossil Lagerstätten, each chapter deals with a single fossil site and follows the same format: its evolutionary position and significance; its background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaoenvironment; a description of the biota and palaeoecology, and a comparison with other similar Lagerstätten. There are appendices of further reading, relevant museums and suggestions for visiting the sites.This book will be of value to a wide range of students and professionals in palaeontology and related sciences, and to amateur enthusiasts.

Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems describes all of the main Fossil Lagerstätten (sites of exceptional fossil preservation) from around the world in a chronological order. It covers the history of research, stratigraphy and taphonomy, main faunal and floral elements, and the palaeoecology of each site and gives a comparison with coeval sites around the w

The first edition of Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems was widely praised for its coverage and approach in describing and illustrating 14 well-known fossil sites from around the world. The authors have now updated the text and added 6 new chapters with many new color illustrations. Following a general introduction to fossil Lagerstätten, each chapter deals with a single site and follows the same format: its evolutionary position and significance; its background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment; a description of the biota and palaeoecology; a comparison with other similar Lagerstätten; and a list of relevant museums and suggestions for visiting the sites. This study of exceptionally well-preserved fossil sites from different periods in geological time provides a picture of the evolution of ecosystems through the ages. - Covers several sites that are not listed in other Lagerstatten books making this the most comprehensive book on the topic; - Beautifully illustrated throughout with more than 450 color photographs and diagrams; - Provides value to a wide range of students and professionals in palaeontology and related sciences.

Most major recent advances in understanding the history of life on Earth have been through the study of exceptionally well preserved biotas (Fossil-Lagerstätten). These are windows on the history of life on Earth and can provide a fairly complete picture of the evolution of ecosystems through time. This book follows the success of Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems by the same authors which covered Fossil-Lagerstätten around the world. The success of the first book prompted this new book which draws on four localities from the original book and adds another ten, all located in North America. Following an introduction to Fossil-Lagerstätten, each chapter deals with a single fossil locality. Each chapter contains a brief introduction placing the Lagerstätte in an evolutionary context; there then follows a history of study of the locality; the background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment; a description of the biota; discussion of the palaeoecology, and a comparison with other Lagerstätten of a similar age and/or environment. At the end of the book is an Appendix listing museums in which to see exhibitions of fossils from each locality and suggestions for visiting the sites.

Breathtaking in scope, this is the first survey of the entire ecological history of life on land—from the earliest traces of terrestrial organisms over 400 million years ago to the beginning of human agriculture. By providing myriad insights into the unique ecological information contained in the fossil record, it establishes a new and ambitious basis for the study of evolutionary paleoecology of land ecosystems. A joint undertaking of the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Consortium at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and twenty-six additional researchers, this book begins with four chapters that lay out the theoretical background and methodology of the science of evolutionary paleoecology. Included are a comprehensive review of the taphonomy and paleoenvironmental settings of fossil deposits as well as guidelines for developing ecological characterizations of extinct organisms and the communities in which they lived. The remaining three chapters treat the history of terrestrial ecosystems through geological time, emphasizing how ecological interactions have changed, the rate and tempo of ecosystem change, the role of exogenous "forcing factors" in generating ecological change, and the effect of ecological factors on the evolution of biological diversity. The six principal authors of this volume are all associated with the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems program at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.

The first palaeoecology book to focus on evolutionary palaeoecology, in both marine and terrestrial environments. Discusses reconstruction of the past ecological world at population, community and biogeographic levels. A well-illustrated and substantial volume giving accessible coverage of the full range of subjects within palaeoecology. Reviews and summarises all the major mass extinctions.

THE EVOLUTIONARY STRATEGIES THAT SHAPE ECOSYSTEMS In 1837 a young Charles Darwin took his notebook, wrote “I think”, and then sketched a rudimentary, stick-like tree. Each branch of Darwin’s tree of life told a story of survival and adaptation – adaptation of animals and plants not just to the environment but also to life with other living things. However, more than 150 years since Darwin published his singular idea of natural selection, the science of ecology has yet to account for how contrasting evolutionary outcomes affect the ability of organisms to coexist in communities and to regulate ecosystem functioning. In this book Philip Grime and Simon Pierce explain how evidence from across the world is revealing that, beneath the wealth of apparently limitless and bewildering variation in detailed structure and functioning, the essential biology of all organisms is subject to the same set of basic interacting constraints on life-history and physiology. The inescapable resulting predicament during the evolution of every species is that, according to habitat, each must adopt a predictable compromise with regard to how they use the resources at their disposal in order to survive. The compromise involves the investment of resources in either the effort to acquire more resources, the tolerance of factors that reduce metabolic performance, or reproduction. This three-way trade-off is the irreducible core of the universal adaptive strategy theory which Grime and Pierce use to investigate how two environmental filters selecting, respectively, for convergence and divergence in organism function determine the identity of organisms in communities, and ultimately how different evolutionary strategies affect the functioning of ecosystems. This book refl ects an historic phase in which evolutionary processes are finally moving centre stage in the effort to unify ecological theory, and animal, plant and microbial ecology have begun to find a common theoretical framework. Companion website This book has a companion website www.wiley.com/go/grime/evolutionarystrategies with Figures and Tables from the book for downloading.

Explores the geography, ecology, and antiquity of 'open ecosystems' which include grasslands, savannas, and shrublands.

Evolution of Primary Producers in the Sea reference examines how photosynthesis evolved on Earth and how phytoplankton evolved through time – ultimately to permit the evolution of complex life, including human beings. The first of its kind, this book provides thorough coverage of key topics, with contributions by leading experts in biophysics, evolutionary biology, micropaleontology, marine ecology, and biogeochemistry.This exciting new book is of interest not only to students and researchers in marine science, but also to evolutionary biologists and ecologists interested in understanding the origins and diversification of life. Evolution of Primary Producers in the Sea offers these students and researchers an understanding of the molecular evolution, phylogeny, fossil record, and environmental processes that collectively permits us to comprehend the rise of phytoplankton and their impact on Earth's ecology and biogeochemistry. It is certain to become the first and best word on this exhilarating topic. - Discusses the evolution of phytoplankton in the world's oceans as the first living organisms and the first and basic producers in the earths food chain - Includes the latest developments in the evolution and ecology of marine phytoplankton specifically with additional information on marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles - The only book to consider of the evolution of phytoplankton and its role in molecular evolution, biogeochemistry, paleontology, and oceanographic aspects - Written at a level suitable for related reading use in courses on the Evolution of the Biosphere, Ecological and Biological oceanography and marine biology, and Biodiversity

Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists. - First book devoted to the whole spectrum of the fossil record of fungi, ranging from Proterozoic fossils to the role of fungi in rock weathering - Detailed discussion of how fossil fungi are preserved and studied - Extensive bibliography with more than 2000 entries - Where possible, fungal fossils are placed in a modern systematic context - Each chapter within the systematic treatment of fungal lineages introduced with an easy-to-understand presentation of the main characters that define extant members - Extensive glossary of more than 700 entries that define both biological, geological, and mycological terminology