Isotope Paleobiology and Paleoecology: So Why Should Paleontologists Care About Geochemistry?

Stable isotopic techniques in geology illuminate not only variations in past climates and oceans, but also the life-histories of extinct animals, plants and protistans. This volume focuses on the ways that stable isotopes can be used as tracers of the fossil biology and ecology of long-dead organism...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Paleontological Society Papers
Main Authors: Corfield, Richard M., Norris, Richard D.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1998
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1089332600000371
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1089332600000371
Description
Summary:Stable isotopic techniques in geology illuminate not only variations in past climates and oceans, but also the life-histories of extinct animals, plants and protistans. This volume focuses on the ways that stable isotopes can be used as tracers of the fossil biology and ecology of long-dead organisms and ecosystems. Here, we introduce relevant aspects of stable isotope systematics and provide a summary of the papers collected in this volume. The nine contributions collected here, from some of the most eminent workers in their respective fields, explore aspects of the ecology, evolution and biology of organisms from planktonic foraminifera to dinosaurs.