Research |
Research Statement My research focuses on the taxonomy, phylogeny, palaeobiology and application of ostracods (microcrustaceans of around 1mm size with a calcified bivalved shell, the carapace, that today inhabit virtually all aquatic environments, both marine and non-marine). Ostracods' small size, morphological variability, ecology, fossilization potential and long geological history render them excellent candidates for a wide array of applications. In non-marine deposits, ostracods are among the most common fossils, at least since the Middle-Late Jurassic, and consequently one of the most useful groups. Other research aspects comprise the palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography of these ostracods, fundamental prerequisites, principles, and methods of their application, and the taxonomy and application of associated Mesozoic Charophyta (stoneworts), and research on Mesozoic marine ostracods. My second research focus is on palaeoclimatology, i.e. climate change, its interplay with life, natural cycles (hydrologic/geochemical cycles), paleobiogeography, paleoecology and paleoenvironmental analysis, paleobiology, paleolimnology. I am particularly interested in climate-mode shifts, short-term climate changes, ocean-land interactions, and applications of these, such as marine to non-marine stratigraphic correlations. |
Dr. Benjamin Sames |
Research Topics 1. Micropaleontology of Ostracoda (and Charophyta) with focus on Mesozoic non-marine deposits 2. Integrated stratigraphy of Wealden ostracods 3. Climate and Sea-level change, climate extremes (Cretaceous => IGCP 609) 4. Non-marine (and marine) late Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous ostracods of the world 5. Fundamentals, principles and methods of the biostratigraphic application of (late) Mesozoic non-marine ostracods 6. Ostracod biostratigraphy, palaeoecology, palaeobiogeography, phylogeny, and evolution 7. Palaobiology and application of ostracod reproductive and dispersal mechanisms 8. Origin and early evolution of the non-marine ostracods 9. Taxonomy and application of Late Jurassic-Cretaceous Charophyta 10. Theoretical, practical and applied taxonomy |
International Cooperations (Selection) ● Prof. Dr. Michael Wagreich - University of Vienna, Austria ● Prof. Dr. David J. Horne - Queen Mary, University of London, UK ● Dr. Khaled Trabelsi - University of Sfax, Tunisia ● Prof. Dr. Richard L. Cifelli - University of Oklahoma and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, OK, USA ● Prof. Dr. Carles Martín-Closas - Universidad de Barcelona, Spain ● João Villar de Queiroz Neto - CENPES Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ● Dr. Wang Yaqiong - Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology/Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China ● Dr. Xi Dangpeng - China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China ● Prof. Dr. Michael E. Schudack († 2016) - Freie Universität Berlin, Germany ● Prof. Dr. Robin C. Whatley († 2016) - University of Aberystwyth, UK |
Theriosynoecum pahasapensis (Peck, 1941), Early Cretaceous, Lakota Formation, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA |
Cypridea (Pseudocypridina) setina var. setina (Anderson, 1939), Early Cretaceous, Lakota Formation, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA |
Main Fields of Research ● Paleontology/Micropalaeontology (Ostracoda, Charophyta) ● Taxonomy (applied and theoretical) and Systematics ● (Bio-)Stratigraphy, Integrated and Applied Statigraphy ● Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoceanography ● Palaeoecology and Palaeolimnology ● Biogeography ● Palaeobiology ● Sedimentology |