- Email: [email protected]
Paleoalgology: Contemporary research and applications
270
Storm Depositional Systems - - Dynamic Stratigraphy in Modern and Ancient ShallowMarine Sequences (Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 3) by T. Aigner. Springer, Berlin, 1985, 174 pp. DM 32/ca. US $15.50). I recommend Thomas Aigner's book, Storm Depositional Systems for anyone wanting a good introduction to this topic or who is initiating research on sequences suspected of having been influenced by storm systems. The book is a doctoral dissertation by Aigner at the University of Tiibingen, is well-written, adequately illustrated and comes at a most reasonable price. The book is divided into two parts. The first, and I believe the one that will be of the most interest to sedimentologists, is the presentation of actualistic models of modern storm depositional systems. These models include a study of storm sedimentation in a carbonate environment in South Florida, U.S.A. and a terrigenous clastic environment in offshore shelf areas of German Bay in the North Sea. The second part of the book applies models developed from modern environments to help interpret the Triassic Upper Muschelkalk in Southwest Germany. Aigner presents this second part of the book as an example of how to use information from actualistic models along with stratigraphic, sedimentologic and paleoecologic information to help interpret epicontinental sequences dominated by storms and waves. Aigner argues that because "carbonate ramps" of epicontinental sequences had no sharp slope break or continuous protective barrier reefs, they are very susceptible to storm depositional processes. Thus, he offers this examination of the Triassic Muschelkalk as a case study or example of an ancient storm system and argues that many such systems exist in Phanerozoic epicontinental sequences. I suspect that Aigner's analysis of the Muschelkalk will be of most interest from an approach standpoint, for his methodology and reasoning, rather t h a n as a description of a local section in Germany. I am glad to see an application of the modern examples made to
interpreting actual rock sequences. However, if the reader does not keep this in mind, the book may seem a bit disjointed with the two separate sections. I think that the real contribution of the book is the development of the actualistic models from the two modern environments and in the approach used to interpret rocks sequences. In conclusion, given the price and the recent interest in storm systems I recommend this book to anyone wanting a good synopsis of storm depositional processes and sequences. This book makes a nice addition to the Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences series. William J. FRITZ(Atlanta, GA)
Paleoalgology: Contemporary Research and Applications. Edited by D.F. Toomey and M.H. Nitecki. Springer, New York, N.Y., 1985, 376 pp. US $65. This volume, the Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Fossil Algae, is a tribute to the memory of J. Harlan Johnson, who pioneered many aspects of paleoalgology. The papers collected here have no central theme. This is not surprizing, considering t h a t so many unrelated organisms (both prokaryotic and eukaryotic) are united under the catch-all term '~algae." The science of paleoalgology is mature enough now for the systematics of some of its major taxa to need review, consolidation, and some reclassification; articles with these goals are found in the second section of the book, as well as some new descriptive work. The leadoff section provides a glimpse of pre-Cambrian algology. H . J . Hofmann provides a useful inventory and discussion of carbonaceous megafossils, while R . J . Horodyski evaluates the relationship between stromatolite morphology and paleoenvironment, and V. P. Wright and J. M. Wright investigate stromatolitic microstructure and periodicity. Subsequent sections of the book deal with Phanerozoic algal buildups, microstructure
271 and calcification, algae and sediments, and evolution. Perhaps the most interesting article for the non-specialist is R. S. Steneck's discussion of the adaptations of crustose coralline algae to herbivory during the last 200 million years. In the early Cenozoic, parrotfishes and other herbivores with the ability to excavate and eat coralline algae became abundant for the first time. Steneck presents a convincing case that the resulting escalation of cropping pressure increased the abundance and species diversity of crustose corallines. The presumed ancestors of coralline algae are solenopores, which first appear during the Lower Cambrian. In R. Riding and L. Voronova's article organizing groups for Cambrian calcareous algae, solenopores are placed in the BotomaeUa-Solenopora Series, one of three different morphological series erected for Cambrian algae. The old argument that the origin of skeletonized animals near the base of the Cambrian was due to escalation of heterotrophy and predation has been recently championed by a number of paleontologists. This argument is strengthened by the fact t h a t both calcareous algae (such as solenopores) and early skeletal metazoans appear during or just before the Early Cambrian. Both animal shells and calcified algae may have arisen because of an increase in the intensity of cropping. In Steneck's words (p. 352), anti-cropping "adaptations are identified by finding convergently (= polyphyletically) evolved characters of similar function." Steneck's fig.lB (showing the major increase in crustose coralline species diversity after the evolution of parrotfishes) is closely similar in form to genera diversity spindle diagrams that have been presented to show the '~explosive" radiation of metazoa across the Precambrian-Cambrian transition. This volume emphasizes the taxonomy, sedimentology and paleoecology of fossil algae. There is one other topic that we wish had been examined - - the biogeochemical significance of algae throughout the Phanerozoic. Calcium carbonate-secreting algae play a large role in removing carbon from the hydrosphere/
atmosphere system. Their influence has increased over time; Steneck calls the Holocene the "Age of Crustose Corallines." Research is needed to show the importance of calcareous algae for the global carbon cycle over the past 600 million years. Dianna L. Schulte McMENAMINand Mark A. S. McMENAMIN(South Hadley, MA)
Plankton Stratigraphy. Edited by H. M. Bolli, J. B. Saunders, K. Perch-Nielsen. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1985, 1032 pp, $175.00.
Plankton Stratigraphy appears at a time when interest in the precise dating and correlation of deep-sea sediments is on the increase. New interpretations of plate tectonics, paleoceanography, and paleomagnetics, for example, require and are stimulated by new developments in calibrating the temporal framework. Correspondingly, marine biostratigraphers continue to expand their specialities and have produced a series of detailed zonations for numerous microfossils of which the planktic microfossils are preeminent. As the search for higher resolution continues, so too does the need to educate - - to provide a source of information on the background, development and potential of the various biostratigraphies. This is the major contribution of the volume edited by Bolli, Saunders and Perch-Nielsen. The editors have integrated the contributions of 18 paleontologists, most foremost specialists in their fields, into a monumental book that documents the biostratigraphic utility of the major plankton groups found in Jurassic to Holocene deep-water sediments. The volume contains an enormous amount of useful information with 1032 pages divided into 19 chapters. Following a brief introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 presents an informative comparison of Late Jurassic to Holocene zonal schemes for the various plankton groups. Chapter 3 introduces six chapters on planktic foraminifers. Then follow two chapters each
Storm Depositional Systems - - Dynamic Stratigraphy in Modern and Ancient ShallowMarine Sequences (Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 3) by T. Aigner. Springer, Berlin, 1985, 174 pp. DM 32/ca. US $15.50). I recommend Thomas Aigner's book, Storm Depositional Systems for anyone wanting a good introduction to this topic or who is initiating research on sequences suspected of having been influenced by storm systems. The book is a doctoral dissertation by Aigner at the University of Tiibingen, is well-written, adequately illustrated and comes at a most reasonable price. The book is divided into two parts. The first, and I believe the one that will be of the most interest to sedimentologists, is the presentation of actualistic models of modern storm depositional systems. These models include a study of storm sedimentation in a carbonate environment in South Florida, U.S.A. and a terrigenous clastic environment in offshore shelf areas of German Bay in the North Sea. The second part of the book applies models developed from modern environments to help interpret the Triassic Upper Muschelkalk in Southwest Germany. Aigner presents this second part of the book as an example of how to use information from actualistic models along with stratigraphic, sedimentologic and paleoecologic information to help interpret epicontinental sequences dominated by storms and waves. Aigner argues that because "carbonate ramps" of epicontinental sequences had no sharp slope break or continuous protective barrier reefs, they are very susceptible to storm depositional processes. Thus, he offers this examination of the Triassic Muschelkalk as a case study or example of an ancient storm system and argues that many such systems exist in Phanerozoic epicontinental sequences. I suspect that Aigner's analysis of the Muschelkalk will be of most interest from an approach standpoint, for his methodology and reasoning, rather t h a n as a description of a local section in Germany. I am glad to see an application of the modern examples made to
interpreting actual rock sequences. However, if the reader does not keep this in mind, the book may seem a bit disjointed with the two separate sections. I think that the real contribution of the book is the development of the actualistic models from the two modern environments and in the approach used to interpret rocks sequences. In conclusion, given the price and the recent interest in storm systems I recommend this book to anyone wanting a good synopsis of storm depositional processes and sequences. This book makes a nice addition to the Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences series. William J. FRITZ(Atlanta, GA)
Paleoalgology: Contemporary Research and Applications. Edited by D.F. Toomey and M.H. Nitecki. Springer, New York, N.Y., 1985, 376 pp. US $65. This volume, the Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Fossil Algae, is a tribute to the memory of J. Harlan Johnson, who pioneered many aspects of paleoalgology. The papers collected here have no central theme. This is not surprizing, considering t h a t so many unrelated organisms (both prokaryotic and eukaryotic) are united under the catch-all term '~algae." The science of paleoalgology is mature enough now for the systematics of some of its major taxa to need review, consolidation, and some reclassification; articles with these goals are found in the second section of the book, as well as some new descriptive work. The leadoff section provides a glimpse of pre-Cambrian algology. H . J . Hofmann provides a useful inventory and discussion of carbonaceous megafossils, while R . J . Horodyski evaluates the relationship between stromatolite morphology and paleoenvironment, and V. P. Wright and J. M. Wright investigate stromatolitic microstructure and periodicity. Subsequent sections of the book deal with Phanerozoic algal buildups, microstructure
271 and calcification, algae and sediments, and evolution. Perhaps the most interesting article for the non-specialist is R. S. Steneck's discussion of the adaptations of crustose coralline algae to herbivory during the last 200 million years. In the early Cenozoic, parrotfishes and other herbivores with the ability to excavate and eat coralline algae became abundant for the first time. Steneck presents a convincing case that the resulting escalation of cropping pressure increased the abundance and species diversity of crustose corallines. The presumed ancestors of coralline algae are solenopores, which first appear during the Lower Cambrian. In R. Riding and L. Voronova's article organizing groups for Cambrian calcareous algae, solenopores are placed in the BotomaeUa-Solenopora Series, one of three different morphological series erected for Cambrian algae. The old argument that the origin of skeletonized animals near the base of the Cambrian was due to escalation of heterotrophy and predation has been recently championed by a number of paleontologists. This argument is strengthened by the fact t h a t both calcareous algae (such as solenopores) and early skeletal metazoans appear during or just before the Early Cambrian. Both animal shells and calcified algae may have arisen because of an increase in the intensity of cropping. In Steneck's words (p. 352), anti-cropping "adaptations are identified by finding convergently (= polyphyletically) evolved characters of similar function." Steneck's fig.lB (showing the major increase in crustose coralline species diversity after the evolution of parrotfishes) is closely similar in form to genera diversity spindle diagrams that have been presented to show the '~explosive" radiation of metazoa across the Precambrian-Cambrian transition. This volume emphasizes the taxonomy, sedimentology and paleoecology of fossil algae. There is one other topic that we wish had been examined - - the biogeochemical significance of algae throughout the Phanerozoic. Calcium carbonate-secreting algae play a large role in removing carbon from the hydrosphere/
atmosphere system. Their influence has increased over time; Steneck calls the Holocene the "Age of Crustose Corallines." Research is needed to show the importance of calcareous algae for the global carbon cycle over the past 600 million years. Dianna L. Schulte McMENAMINand Mark A. S. McMENAMIN(South Hadley, MA)
Plankton Stratigraphy. Edited by H. M. Bolli, J. B. Saunders, K. Perch-Nielsen. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1985, 1032 pp, $175.00.
Plankton Stratigraphy appears at a time when interest in the precise dating and correlation of deep-sea sediments is on the increase. New interpretations of plate tectonics, paleoceanography, and paleomagnetics, for example, require and are stimulated by new developments in calibrating the temporal framework. Correspondingly, marine biostratigraphers continue to expand their specialities and have produced a series of detailed zonations for numerous microfossils of which the planktic microfossils are preeminent. As the search for higher resolution continues, so too does the need to educate - - to provide a source of information on the background, development and potential of the various biostratigraphies. This is the major contribution of the volume edited by Bolli, Saunders and Perch-Nielsen. The editors have integrated the contributions of 18 paleontologists, most foremost specialists in their fields, into a monumental book that documents the biostratigraphic utility of the major plankton groups found in Jurassic to Holocene deep-water sediments. The volume contains an enormous amount of useful information with 1032 pages divided into 19 chapters. Following a brief introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 presents an informative comparison of Late Jurassic to Holocene zonal schemes for the various plankton groups. Chapter 3 introduces six chapters on planktic foraminifers. Then follow two chapters each