|
Showing 1 - 6 of
6 matches in All Departments
Increasing rate of species extinction in the present day will lead
to a huge biodiversity crisis; eventually, this will lead to the
paucity of non-renewable resources of energy making our Earth
unsustainable in future. To save our mother planet from this
crisis, studies need to be performed to discover abundant new
fossil sites on Earth for continued access to oil-rich locations.
Most importantly, a holistic approach is necessary in solving the
present problem of biodiversity loss. This book presents newly
developed quantitative models in understanding the biodiversity,
evolution and ecology of extinct organisms. This will assist future
earth scientists in understanding the natural and anthropogenic
causes behind biodiversity crisis and ecosystem collapse. In
addition, this study would be of great interest to exploration
geologists and geophysicists in potentially unraveling natural
resources from our sustainable Earth.
Fossil species appear to persist morphologically unchanged for long
intervals of geologic time, punctuated by short bursts of rapid
change as explained by the Ecological Evolutionary Units (EEUs).
Here, morphological variation in Paleozoic atrypide morphology at
the subfamily level (Atrypinae and Variatrypinae) from the Silurian
and Devonian time intervals in the third Paleozoic EEU (~444-359
my) were investigated using relatively new techniques of
quantitative modeling. The study explains how a group of closely
related taxa in atrypide subfamilies exhibit morphological
conservation through time in P3 EEU within the Eastern North
America region.
The prerequisite to investigating the underlying causes behind mass
extinction is a profound understanding of the evolutionary history
of both living and dead species. It is especially important to
appreciate the significance of such studies in extinct organisms;
especially in organisms that were abundant in a certain geologic
era, but have subsequently dwindled or become extinct. Such studies
should help to accurately evaluate patterns of evolution in extinct
species lineages and help predict the same in its modern analogs.
The book includescutting edge research in evolutionary biology that
should serve as a starting point for conservation.
Carbonate depositional systems in the Paleozoic geologic time
represent fewer studies in paleoecological interactions than the
siliciclastic systems. To evaluate this difference, the
paleontology of the Middle Devonian Dundee Formation in Ohio has
been explored. This geologic formation represents an important
environment in the Michigan Basin of North America. Understanding
biotic relationships such as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism
and predation in an ecological community is important in unraveling
the mystery of the fossil record. This research has contributed a
large field collection which will be useful in documenting the
fossil content of this unit for future workers. Rituparna Bose used
new microscopic and imaging techniques in qualitatively analyzing
the biotic interactions in small invertebrate shells. More
importantly, she solved complex hypotheses in newly emerging
problems in the field of geology and paleontology, such as the
biodiversity crisis. Her study involved exploring the Devonian
geology and paleontology of a geologic formation of a new
unexplored quarry in Ohio, namely the Whitehouse Quarry in Lucas
County, Ohio. She identified Devonian brachiopods to the genus
level based on their morphology, and diagnosed paleoecological
entities on host brachiopods and further measured episkeletobiont
traces on hosts to understand the effects of environment and
evolution on extinct species. Such studies have implications in
predicting future biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and climate
change. This research will also assist future workers to compare
the ecology of brachiopod hosts of the Dundee Limestone with that
of other Devonian brachiopods, from both carbonate and
siliciclastic settings.
Increasing rate of species extinction in the present day will lead
to a huge biodiversity crisis; eventually, this will lead to the
paucity of non-renewable resources of energy making our Earth
unsustainable in future. To save our mother planet from this
crisis, studies need to be performed to discover abundant new
fossil sites on Earth for continued access to oil-rich locations.
Most importantly, a holistic approach is necessary in solving the
present problem of biodiversity loss. This book presents newly
developed quantitative models in understanding the biodiversity,
evolution and ecology of extinct organisms. This will assist future
earth scientists in understanding the natural and anthropogenic
causes behind biodiversity crisis and ecosystem collapse. In
addition, this study would be of great interest to exploration
geologists and geophysicists in potentially unraveling natural
resources from our sustainable Earth.
The prerequisite to developing effective strategies for conserving
biodiversity is a profound understanding of the taxonomy and
phylogeny of all life forms. It is especially important to
appreciate the significance of such studies in extinct organisms;
especially in organisms that were abundant in a certain geologic
era, but have subsequently dwindled or become extinct. Such studies
should help to understand extinction, accurately gauge the
underlying causes behind loss of biodiversity and make predictions
about future distribution of biodiversity. I use bio-statistical
approaches to trace loss of biodiversity, and what should also
serve as a starting point for conservation. My research interests
encompass paleontology, geobiology, sedimentology, meteorology and
paleoceanography; and have implications for the petroleum industry
as research could potentially uncover new oil-rich locations.
|
|