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Quantifying the Evolution of Early Life

Numerical Approaches to the Evaluation of Fossils and Ancient Ecosystems

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

Editors:
  1. Marc Laflamme

    1. , Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellow, Departm, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum, Washington, USA

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  2. James D. Schiffbauer

    1. , Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, USA

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  3. Stephen Q. Dornbos

    1. , Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA

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  • Covers the evaluation of fossils during the Cambrian radiation
  • Expands the breadth of understanding of numerical approaches and novel technologies to both young and seasoned paleontologists
  • Outlines strengths and limitations of specific numerical or technological approaches and applies the chosen method to a real fossil dataset or sample type
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology (TGBI, volume 36)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
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  2. Numerical Methods

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Ordination Methods and the Evaluation of Ediacaran Communities

      • Matthew E. Clapham
      Pages 3-21

    3. Exploratory Multivariate Techniques and Their Utility for Understanding Ancient Ecosystems

      • John Warren Huntley
      Pages 23-48

    4. Morphometrics in the Study of Ediacaran Fossil Forms

      • Marc Laflamme, Michelle M. Casey
      Pages 49-71

    5. Analyzing Predation from the Dawn of the Phanerozoic

      • Lindsey R. Leighton
      Pages 73-109

    6. Ecospace Utilization During the Ediacaran Radiation and the Cambrian Eco-explosion

      • Andrew M. Bush, Richard K. Bambach, Douglas H. Erwin
      Pages 111-133

    7. Quantifying Bioturbation in Ediacaran and Cambrian Rocks

      • Katherine N. Marenco, David J. Bottjer
      Pages 135-160

    8. Assessing the Role of Skeletons in Early Paleozoic Carbonate Production: Insights from Cambro-Ordovician Strata, Western Newfoundland

      • Sara B. Pruss, Hannah Clemente
      Pages 161-183

    9. Exploring the Ecological Dynamics of Extinction

      • Amelinda E. Webb, Lindsey R. Leighton
      Pages 185-220

  3. Technological Approaches

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 221-221
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    2. Fossils with Little Relief: Using Lasers to Conserve, Image, and Analyze the Ediacara Biota

      • Jonathan B. Antcliffe, Martin D. Brasier
      Pages 223-240

    3. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and Raman (and Fluorescence) Spectroscopic Imagery of Permineralized Cambrian and Neoproterozoic Fossils

      • J. William Schopf, Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev
      Pages 241-270

    4. X-Ray Microanalysis of Burgess Shale and Similarly Preserved Fossils

      • Patrick J. Orr, Stuart L. Kearns
      Pages 271-299

    5. Ultrastructural Approaches to the Microfossil Record: Assessing Biological Affinities by Use of Transmission Electron Microscopy

      • Sebastian Willman, Phoebe A. Cohen
      Pages 301-320

    6. Paleobiological Applications of Focused Ion Beam Electron Microscopy (FIB-EM): An Ultrastructural Approach to the (Micro)Fossil Record

      • James D. Schiffbauer, Shuhai Xiao
      Pages 321-354

    7. Reconstructing Deep-Time Biology with Molecular Fossils

      • Christian Hallmann, Amy E. Kelly, S. Neal Gupta, Roger E. Summons
      Pages 355-401

    8. Carbon and Sulfur Stable Isotopic Systems and Their Application in Paleoenvironmental Analysis

      • Kathleen A. McFadden, Amy E. Kelly
      Pages 403-450

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 451-462
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Keywords

About this book

This volume provides a detailed description of a wide range of numerical, statistical or modeling techniques and novel instrumentation separated into individual chapters written by paleontologists with expertise in the given methodology. Each chapter outlines the strengths and limitations of specific numerical or technological approaches, and ultimately applies the chosen method to a real fossil dataset or sample type. A unifying theme throughout the book is the evaluation of fossils during the prologue and epilogue of one of the most exciting events in Earth History: the Cambrian radiation.

Editors and Affiliations

  • , Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellow, Departm, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum, Washington, USA

    Marc Laflamme

  • , Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, USA

    James D. Schiffbauer

  • , Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA

    Stephen Q. Dornbos

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