Bryozoan Studies 2010

Bryozoa are a colonial animal phylum with a long evolutionary history, having existed from the early Ordovician (480 My) onward and still flourishing today. Several mass extinctions in earth history shaped and triggered bryozoan evolution through drastic turnover of faunas and new evolutionary lineages. Bryozoa are widespread across all latitudes from Equator to Polar Regions and occur in marine and freshwater environments. They are shaping benthic ecosystems and recording ambient environmental conditions in their skeletons. The book provides a synthesis of the current main topics of research in the field of Bryozoology including combined research on both extant, and extinct taxa. Fields or current research span molecular genetics and phylogeny, life history, reproduction and anatomy, biodiversity and evolutionary patterns in time and space, taxonomy, zoogeography, ecology, sediment interactions, and climate response.

Bryozoa are a colonial animal phylum with a long evolutionary history, having existed from the early Ordovician (480 My) onward and still flourishing today. Several mass extinctions in earth history shaped and triggered bryozoan evolution through drastic turnover of faunas and new evolutionary lineages. Bryozoa are widespread across all latitudes from Equator to Polar Regions and occur in marine and freshwater environments. They are shaping benthic ecosystems and recording ambient environmental conditions in their skeletons. The book provides a synthesis of the current main topics of research in the field of Bryozoology including combined research on both extant, and extinct taxa. Fields or current research span molecular genetics and phylogeny, life history, reproduction and anatomy, biodiversity and evolutionary patterns in time and space, taxonomy, zoogeography, ecology, sediment interactions, and climate response.

A selection of papers presented at the 13th International Conference of the International Bryozoology Association held in Concepción Chile in January 2004 and hosted by the Universidad de Concepción and Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción. The topics presented in this volume reflect the diversity of studies on bryozoa with authors from 18 countries. They include investigations in seven thematic areas: ecology and life strategies; recent and fossil faunas of Australia and New Zealand; past and present bryozoans from both Antarctic and Arctic seas; geology and palaeontology of bryozoans from Eurasia and North America; fresh water bryozoans around the world; fossil bryozoans of the Mediterranean and Tethyan realms and evolution and diversity of recent species. This volume represents the newest advances made in bryozoological studies during the last three years, and makes a significant contribution to the literature.

Bryozoan Studies 2022 contains nineteen papers presented at the 19th International Conference of the International Bryozoology Association held at Trinity College Dublin in August 2022. Bryozoans are complex and fascinating colonial organisms that range from Cambrian to the present day and which are found in marine and freshwater environments from pole to pole and subtidal to abyssal. Recent tomographic techniques have revolutionised the study of modern and fossil taxa where internal structures are revealed through non-destructive methodologies. Here the internal structure of some Ordovician and Eocene taxa is illustrated through these methods. Phylogenetic studies of bryozoans question the classic classification of the group; here the phylogeny of species from California and Japan is described. Other topics covered are assessments of Recent faunas from Haiti and fossil assemblages from Mexico and the United States. Distributional patterns from the Arctic and New Zealand and the dispersal patterns of bryozoans on rafted pumice and on slipper lobsters are characterised. Further contributions provide descriptions of a rare Permian taxon, clarification of species assigned to the Upper Palaeozoic genus Stenopora, avicularia in Wilbertopora, enigmatic structures in a fenestrate bryozoan, repair structures in trepostomes, and an assessment of skeletonisation in the families of Palaeozoic orders.

Bryozoa are among the most abundant yet least understood of phyla in the fossil record. These exclusively colonial animals can be traced back to the Ordovician as fossils and are common elements of sediments deposited in shallow marine environments. On occasion their calcareous skeletons are sufficiently numerous to produce bryozoan limestones. The potential of bryozoans in facies analysis, and their use in macroevolutionary studies, have both been widely recognised, but to date have been incompletely exploited. Bryozoan Paleobiology brings together the scattered research on living and fossil bryozoans in broad and profusely illustrated overview that will help students and researchers alike in understanding this fascinating group of animals. Beginning with the basics of bryozoan morphology, ecology and classification, the book progresses from the smallest scale of skeletal ultrastructure, to the largest of bryozoan distributions in time and space. On the way, topics such as the origin of zooidal polymorphism and macroevolutionary trends in colony forms are covered. Case studies illuminate these topics, and areas in which further research is particularly required are highlighted.

Bryozoa are among the most abundant yet least understood of phyla in the fossil record. These exclusively colonial animals can be traced back to the Ordovician as fossils and are common elements of sediments deposited in shallow marine environments. On occasion their calcareous skeletons are sufficiently numerous to produce bryozoan limestones. The potential of bryozoans in facies analysis, and their use in macroevolutionary studies, have both been widely recognised, but to date have been incompletely exploited. Bryozoan Paleobiology brings together the scattered research on living and fossil bryozoans in broad and profusely illustrated overview that will help students and researchers alike in understanding this fascinating group of animals. Beginning with the basics of bryozoan morphology, ecology and classification, the book progresses from the smallest scale of skeletal ultrastructure, to the largest of bryozoan distributions in time and space. On the way, topics such as the origin of zooidal polymorphism and macroevolutionary trends in colony forms are covered. Case studies illuminate these topics, and areas in which further research is particularly required are highlighted.

Bryozoans are aquatic animals that form colonies of connected individuals. They take a variety of forms: some are bushy and moss-like, some are flat and encrusting and others resemble lace. Bryozoans are mostly marine, with species found in all oceans from sublittoral to abyssal depths, but freshwater species also exist. Some bryozoans are of concern as marine-fouling organisms and invasive species, while others show promise as sources of anticancer, antiviral and antifouling substances. Written by experts in the field, Australian Bryozoa Volume 1: Biology, Ecology and Natural History is the first of two volumes describing Australia’s 1200 known species of bryozoans, the richest diversity of bryozoans of any country in the world. It contains chapters on the discovery of bryozoans, their morphology, classification and fossil history, their roles in biosecurity and marine benthic environments, and potential uses in biotechnology and ocean acidification. It provides an authoritative reference for biology students, academics and others interested in marine biology.