MICROPALAEONTOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP

Prof. Robin Whatley
Prof. John Haynes (retired)


The ostracod sub-group enjoys long-standing international recognition as a centre of excellence for its work in taxonomy, producing monographs on Mesozoic and Cainozoic faunas worldwide, as well as the Post-Palaeozoic Ostracoda Treatise revision. Pioneering work has been done on biostratigraphic application; environmental reconstruction (using population age statistics to ensure autochthoneity) of depth, salinity and temperature / climate based on faunal association and shell chemistry, cytogenetics of marine species. Recently the concept of percentage proportions of filter feeders to determine marine oxigen levels back to the Devonian has been developed. Work has also covered palaeoceanography, global warming, zoogeography, palaeo-migration events, evolution in isolation, DNA and eloctrophoresis of brackish/freshwater species.

Collaborative research is carried out with some 59 workers in 24 countries and 17 colleagues in the UK. The team has a large number of foreign and UK researchers coming to work for periods up to 3 years attracted by our excellent facilities, especially the micropalaeontological collections and specialist library (recognised by ODP in 1994 as the only approved centre for Micropalaeontology in the UK). The group is known for its exhaustive publication list, 2 edited volumes and over 70 journal articles.

Over years, Micropalaeontology has attracted large amounts of money in research grants and studentships from government, industry and other sources; and travel grants from the Royal Society, British Council, CONICET (Argentina), CNPQ (Brazil), University of Kansas, Canadian Geol. Surv., Academia Sineca and others (including internal sources).

Whatley has achieved wide international recognition (membership of Argentinian Academy of Sciences; life membership Argentine Geol. Soc.; NERC Biodiversity & Taxonomy Steering Committee; University of Kuwait Scientific Research Assessor; Assessor for Australian Research Council; Advisor to NERC / ODP panel; Member Board of Editors, Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology; Editorial Board Revista Española de Micropaleontología).

The foraminiferan group has an even longer history of recognised excellence and is currently noted for the application to biostratigraphy and palaeoecology (particularly from boreholes off the west coast of Britain and the Quaternary of the Irish Sea Basin); and for taxonomic studies of the rotaliids.

Micropalaeontology (Ostracods Research Group)

Micropalaeontology (Foraminifera Research Group)
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This page was last updated on 26/II/96.