Alicia Moguilevsky & Robin Whatley (eds.). University of Wales, Aberystwyth Press. ISBN 0 903 878 74 7. 1996, 434 pp., £25.00. [ * Copies can be obtained from either editor, at the Institute of Earth Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DB, U .K.]
In April 1994 the Institute of Earth Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) and the British Micropalaeontological Society convened an International Conference entitled “ODP and the Marine Biosphere” at UWA. Surprisingly, bearing in mind the contribution micropalaeontology has made to the DSDP and ODP since these projects began in 1968, it has taken so long to organise such a meeting. This excellent collection of 25 papers presents the cream of the presentations and is a fitting tribute to the success of the 3-day extravaganza so ably organized by the editors and their colleagues.
The volume is divided into six chapters: Palaeoceanography – Benthos; Palaeoceanography – Plankton; New techniques and Applications; Ecology; Stratigraphy and Biostratigraphy; and Evolution. The bulk of the papers (respectively, 6 and 9 in number) occur in the first two chapters, with 4 papers in Stratigraphy and Biostratigraphy, and 2 each in the other three chapters. There is something for every shade of micropalaeontologist here: foraminifera (11 papers), nannofossils (7 papers), ostracods (5 papers), radiolaria (4 papers), diatoms (2 papers), as well as dinoflagellates (1 paper) being covered. In terms of stratigraphic coverage, the Neogene and the Cretaceous have the most offerings, although there are several on the K/T boundary including a major synthesis on stratigraphic completeness and planktonic survivorship by Norman MacLeod. Admitting my own bias, the two papers on new techniques – the isolation and amplification of the 18S Ribosomal RNA gene from planktonic foraminifera using gametogenic specimens by Kate Darling (and her co-workers), and automated biometrics on captured light microscope images of coccoliths by Jeremy Young et al. – both caught my eye. There are several advances in biozonation, notably Chapman et al.’s high resolution Pliocene planktonic foraminiferal zonation for the tropical North Atlantic, the recognition of the Oligocene/Miocene boundary in terms of radiolarian events (by Sanfilippo & Nigrini), and a significant contribution to the late Cretaceous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Southern Ocean (by Watkins and co-workers). Perhaps the most fascinating chapters of all, however, are two devoted to a review of endemism and the mechanisms of evolution of ostracods on seamounts (from the ODP studies of Whatley, Boomer and Larwood).
As well as being co-editor, Robin Whatley’s contribution to the fray is seen many times in the Volume, none more so than in his plea (in the opening chapter) for the role of ostracod studies in our understanding of the deep sea, to be given the credit it certainly deserves. The plea becomes a rant near the end, however, against funding bodies, “icons of gadarene swine” and the like, but what he is really saying will strike cords (and not a few worries) with many of us as to the future of this type of research (and it does make an entertaining read!).
The paperback has been beautifully produced in-house, mainly thanks to the efforts of Alicia Moguilevsky and is the epitome of what can be done with desk-top publishing; the maps, diagrams and plates being particularly clear, the paper is good quality, and all for £25. The British Micropalaeontological Society can be proud to be associated with it. The volume is aptly dedicated to N. deB Hornibrook, a truly great micropalaeontologist, who sadly died at the time the conference was being held.
John Whittaker, Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD.