Ostracodology - Linking Bio- and Geosciences

The great diversity of ostracod applications in biology and palaeontology is clearly illustrated by eighteen papers from the 15th International Symposium on Ostracoda. Collectively, the contributions provide a comprehensive update of ongoing research and the latest findings in ostracod sciences. You ll learn how ostracods are used as model groups in a variety of research studies, ranging from evolutionary biology to climate change.Ostracods, small aquatic Crustacea, occur in almost every marine, brackish and freshwater habitat. Their calcified bivalved carapaces readily fossilize and their record in earth history is long, dense and diverse. Ostracod species are particularly useful as tools in marine and limnic (palaeo-) ecology, in (palaeo-) biogeography, and biostratigraphy. Their reproductive morphology is as extraordinary as their reproductive modes, and many of their physiological peculiarities remain mysterious. Ostracod taxonomy and phylogeny contribute to general studies of crustacean evolution. §The diversity of ostracod applications in both biology and palaeontology is clearly illustrated by the eighteen papers of the 15th International Symposium on Ostracoda (Berlin, Germany) in 2005, which are grouped in the present proceedings, one of three volumes resulting from this meeting.