Geology of Saipan Mariana Islands

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Geology of Saipan Mariana Islands Geology of Saipan Mariana Islands Part 3. Paleontology GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PA?ER 28;0-E-J Geology of Saipan Mariana Islands Part 3. Paleontology GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 280-E-J Chapter E. Calcareous Algae By J. Harlan Johnson Chapter F. Discoaster and Some Related Microfossils By M. N. Bramlette Chapter G. Eocene Radiolaria By William R. Reidel Chapter H. Smaller Foraminifera By Ruth Todd Chapter I. Larger Foraminifera By W. Storrs Cole Chapter J. Echinoids By C. Wythe Cooke UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1957 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRED A. SEATON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. CONTENTS OF PART 3 Page Chapter E. Calcareous Algae............................................ 209 Chapter F. Discoaster and Some Related Microfossils........................ 247 Chapter G. Eocene Radiolaria ........................................ 257 Chapter H. Smaller Foraminifera........................................ 265 Chapter I. Larger Foraminifera......................................... 321 Chapter J. Echinoids .................................................. 361 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 280 Geology of Saipan, Mariana Islands Part 1. General Geology A. General Geology By PRESTON E. CLOUD, Jr., ROBERT GEORGE SCHMIDT, and HAROLD W. BURKE Part 2. Petrology and Soils B. Petrology of the Volcanic Rocks By ROBERT GEORGE SCHMIDT C. Petrography of the Limestones By J. HARLAN JOHNSON D. Soils By RALPH J. McCRACKEN Part 3. Paleontology E. Calcareous Algae By J. HARLAN JOHNSON F. Discoaster and Some Related Microfossils By M. N. BRAMLETTE G. Eocene Radiolaria By WILLIAM RIEDEL H. Smaller Foraminifera By RUTH TODD I. Larger Foraminifera By W. STORKS COLE J. Echinoids By C. WYTHE COOKE Part 4. Submarine Topography and Shoal-Water Ecology K. Submarine Topography and Shoal-Water Ecology By PRESTON E. CLOUD, Jr. Professional Paper 280 is being published in the foregoing sequence of parts and chapters IV Calcareous Ateae By J. HARLAN JOHNSON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 280-E Twenty-four of the eighty-eight species-groups listed or described are new; a brief consideration is given to algae as rock builders and index fossils CONTENTS Page Abstract-_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 209 Introduction._________________________________________________________________________________________________ 209 Acknowledgment ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 209 Major groups of calcareous algae________________________________________________________________________________ 209 Structure, terminology, and systematic distinction_____________________________________________________________ 210 Geologic work of calcareous algae__________-_____________________________________________________________________ 210 Algae as indicators of age and environment-______________________________________________________________________ 211 Stratigraphic distribution of the Saipan algae____________________________________________________________________ 211 Localities.____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 213 Systematic descriptions.________________________________________________________________________________________ 216 Rhodophyta (red algae)____________________________________________________________________________________ 216 Family Corallinaceae (coralline algae)____________________________________________________________________ 216 Subfamily Melobesioideae (crustose corallines)- — _________-_____-___---_-_-__-__--___---------_----__ 216 Genus ArchaeoUthothamnium Rothpletz.__________________________________________________________ 216 Division 1—Simple crusts_________________________________________________________________ 217 Division 2—Crusts with warty protuberances or mammillae___________________________________ 219 Genus Lithothamnium Philippi_________________________________________________________________ 220 Division 1—Simple crusts_________________________________________________________________ 221 Division 2—Free crusts_________-_____________________--__-_-____--__-_-_-___-_-----_-_-__ 223 Division 3—Crusts with warty protuberances or mammillae-____________________________________ 224 Division 4—Strongly branching forms--____________________---______------_-__-___----_------ 226 Genus Mesophyllum Lemoine_______________________________-_-----___-__-----__---_----------_-- 226 Genus Lithophyllum Philippi_________________________________-_________-__--__--____---_-_-_--_- 227 Division 1—Simple crusts__________-_________________-__-___-____-_--_-_----_------_---__- 228 Division 2—Crusts free or nearly free.____________-________-_-_______-_--------_-_--__---_--_ 229 Division 3—Crusts with warty protuberances or mammillae___________________________________ 229 Division 4—Strongly branching forms-_______-___--_______-----__---------------------------- 230 Genus Goniolithon Foslie__________________._____-__-____-__--__-__-_-_---_---_-_---------_-_-- 231 Genus Porolithon Foslie___________________________________________________________________ 232 Genus Paraporolithon n. gen________________________________-----__---_---------------------_--- 233 Genus Lithoporella Foslie-____-_____-______________________----_-__-____-----------_------------ 233 Genus Melobesia Lamouroux_____-_____________-___--________---_-__-__-_-----------------_-_--- 234 Genus Dermatolithon Foslie______--_______________-_-_-____----_--__--------_------------------ 235 Subfamily Corallinoideae (articulate corallines)____________-_-___---------_---<------------------------- 235 Key to articulate coralline algae, by Preston E. Cloud, Jr______________________-___--_-___-_-_-_-_- 236 Genus Calliarthron Manza._______________________-_______-____-___-__-__--------_-------_------ 236 Genus Jania Lamouroux______________-____________________-_____-_-_---_----------_---------- 237 Genus Amphiroa Lamouroux.________________________________-_____-_----_---__-_-------------_- 237 Genus Arthrocardia Decaisne (emend. Areschoug)_-_----_--__-------------------------------------- 238 Genus Corallina Linnaeus__--_-_____-___-__________---___-_--_--_-_---_--_---------------------- 238 Chlorophyta (green algae)-_-____-____--_______________________-________________---_----_--_-_------------ 240 Family Dasycladaceae_______________-_____________________-______________-_---_-------__-------------- 240 Genus Cymopolia Lamouroux-_______________________________----_-____--------------_----------- 240 Family Codiaecae______________________________________________-___-_-____-__-_---_---_---_---------- 241 Genus Halimeda Lamouroux-_-_______________________________---___----_------_----------.------ 241 Genus Microcodium Gluck.___-____-_________________-____-_-_---____-_------------------------- 242 Selected bibliography___________________________________________________________________________________________ 242 Index. ___________________________________________________________________-_______________-__ 245 vn VIII CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates 2 and 4 In pocket; plates 37-60 follow index] PLATE 2. Generalized geologic map and sections of Saipan, Mariana Islands. 4. Locality-finding map of Saipan. 37. Structure and definitions. 38. Upper Eocene Archaeolithothamnium and Lithothamnium. 39. Upper Eocene Archaeolithothamnium, Lithothamnium, and Jania. 40. Upper Eocene and lower Miocene Lithothamnium and upper Eocene Corallina. 41. Upper Eocene Lithothamnium. 42. Upper Eocene Lithothamnium. 43. Upper Eocene and lower Miocene Lithophyllum and upper Eocene Lithoporella and Melobesia. 44. Upper Eocene Mesophyllum and Corallina and lower Miocene Halimeda. 45. Upper Eocene Dasycladaceae. 46. Lower Miocene Archaeolithothamnium. 47. Lower Miocene Archaeolithothamnium and Lithothamnium. 48. Lower Miocene Lithothamnium. 49. Lower Miocene Lithothamnium, Lithophyllum, and Lithoporella. 50. Lower Miocene Corallina and Microcodium. 51. Lower Miocene Dasycladaceae. 52. Lower Miocene Calliarthron, Jania, Paraporolithon, and Mesophyllum. 53. Pleistocene Archaeolithothamnium and Lithothamnium. 54. Pleistocene Lithothamnium and Lithophyllum. 55. Pleistocene Lithophyllum, Porolithon, Amphiroa, and Halimeda.. 56. Pleistocene (roniolithon, Halimeda, Porolithon, and Lithoporella. 57. Recent Lithophyllum, upper Eocene and lower Miocene Dermatolithon 58. Recent Lithophyllum. 59. Recent Porolithon and Goniolithon. 60. Recent Amphiroa, Goniolithon, and Halimeda. TABLES Table 1. Genera of calcareous algae found in the Cenozoic deposits of Saipan_____________________-_-___-------------- 209 2. Stratigraphic distribution of fossil algae of Saipan.______________________-_---_-_-------------------------- 212 3. Field and permanent catalog numbers for fossil algae____________________________---__----___-_---_------_ 213 4. Localities of collections of living material__-____.___------------------------------------------------------ 216 5. Measurements and distribution of Saipan species of Archaeolithothamnium. _____________-_______------_____-__ 217 6. Measurements and distribution of Saipan species of Lithothamnium-.-.-.------------------------------------ 220 7. Measurements and distribution of Saipan species of Lithophyllum- _________--____--__-_---_____----------____ 227
Recommended publications
  • Professor Preston Cloud
    Professor Preston Cloud (1912-Jl990) (Preston Cloud, a great name in Earth Science is no more, His was a versatile mind which probed into many aspects of Earth history. We pro­ duce below a short life history of the famous professor written specially for the Journal by Somadev Bhattacharji, Professor of Geology, New York State University, Brooklyn, New York.-Ed. With the death of Professor Preston Cloud, Emeritus Professor of Geology at the Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara~ the Earth Sciences have lost one of their most eminent spokesman. Professor Cloud was born in eastern Massachusetts in 1912. He started his undergraduate study of geology in a one-professor department at George Washing­ ton University at Washington, D.C. while holding a tenuous job in the Smith­ sonian Institution's Natural History Museum during the great depression yea'rs in the U.S.A. This early experience influenced his later career in geology. He graduated from George Washington University in 1938, and continued on to receive his Ph.D. from Yale University at New Haven, Connecticut in 1940. After a long association with the U.S. Geological Survey as a geologist and paleonto­ logist, he retired in 1979. He also taught at the Missouri School of Mines~ Harvard University, The University of Minnesota, and the University of California at both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. In the last years of his active retired life, Santa Barbara was his base, but he travelled widely to see · real geology' and lectured and inspired many, beside being busy writing.
    [Show full text]
  • A Complex Microbiota from Snowball Earth Times: Microfossils from the Neoproterozoic Kingston Peak Formation, Death Valley, USA
    A complex microbiota from snowball Earth times: Microfossils from the Neoproterozoic Kingston Peak Formation, Death Valley, USA Frank A. Corsetti*†, Stanley M. Awramik‡, and David Pierce‡ *Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089; and ‡Department of Geological Sciences, Preston Cloud Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Communicated by John C. Crowell, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, January 29, 2003 (received for review October 7, 2002) A thin carbonate unit associated with a Sturtian-age (Ϸ750–700 did they experience severe or moderate extinction during the million years ago) glaciogenic diamictite of the Neoproterozoic glacial events? Did surviving clades undergo radiation after Kingston Peak Formation, eastern California, contains microfossil the glacial events, as might be predicted with such an environ- evidence of a once-thriving prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial mental crisis (e.g., ref. 7)? Can we observe evidence of the community (preserved in chert and carbonate). Stratiform stroma- environmental filter (3) or ‘‘bottlenecks’’ (7) that have been tolites, oncoids, and rare columnar stromatolites also occur. The hypothesized? microbial fossils, which include putative autotrophic and hetero- Here, we report the implications of diverse fossil microbiotas trophic eukaryotes, are similar to those found in chert in the from the Death Valley region, California, found immediately underlying preglacial units. They indicate that microbial life preceding and within (or possibly capping) demonstrably glacial adapted to shallow-water carbonate environments did not suffer strata deposited during one of the Neoproterozoic snowball the significant extinction postulated for this phase of low-latitude Earth episodes. Although diverse microbiotas are known from glaciation and that trophic complexity survived through snowball strata that immediately postdate snowball events (e.g., Tindir Earth times.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Gunflint Chert and Its Implications for Eukaryote Origins
    A ‘Giant Microfossil’ from the Gunflint Chert and its Implications for Eukaryote Origins Mark A. S. McMenamin1,*, Aurora Curtis-Hill1, Sophie Rabinow1, Kalyndi Martin1 and Destiny Treloar1 1 Department of Geology and Geography, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States *Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: 413-538-2280 Copyright©2019 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract We report here a ‘giant microfossil’ resembling 2. Geological Setting the conidium of an ascomycete fungus (cf. Alternaria alternata). The specimen is preserved in stromatolitic black The Gunflint Iron Formation is known for its chert of the Gunflint Iron Formation (Paleoproterozoic Eon, microfossiliferous black cherts. These cherts have produced Orosirian Period, ca. 1.9-2.0 Ga) of southern Ontario, compelling evidence for very ancient (ca. 2 Ga) microbial Canada, and the rock that provided the thin section may life [3-11]. Tyler and Barghoorn [3] noted that as “far as we have been collected by Elso Barghoorn as part of the are aware, these [microbes] are the oldest structurally original discovery of the Gunflint microbiota. The large size preserved organisms . and, as such, are of great interest of the fossil sets it apart from other, tiny by comparison, in the evolutionary scheme of primitive life.” This paper [3] Gunflint microfossils. The fossil is 200 microns in length is considered one of the great classics of American earth and has cross walls. Individual cells are 30-46 microns in science (“a benchmark, a monumental ‘first’” [5]).
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Big History's Big Potential
    Introduction Big History’s Big Potential Leonid E. Grinin, David Baker, Esther Quaedackers, and Andrey V. Korotayev Big History has been developing very fast indeed. We are currently ob- serving a ‘Cambrian explosion’ in terms of its popularity and diffusion. Big History courses are taught in the schools and universities of several dozen countries, including China, Korea, the Netherlands, the USA, In- dia, Russia, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, and many more. The International Big History Association (IBHA) is gaining momentum in its projects and membership. Conferences are beginning to be held regularly (this edited volume has been prepared on the basis of the pro- ceedings of the International Big History Association Inaugural Confer- ence [see below for details]). Hundreds of researchers are involved in studying and teaching Big History. What is Big History? And why is it becoming so popular? Accord- ing to the working definition of the IBHA, ‘Big History seeks to under- stand the integrated history of the Cosmos, Earth, Life and Humanity, using the best available empirical evidence and scholarly methods’. The need to see this process of development holistically, in its origins and growing complexity, is fundamental to what drives not only science but also the human imagination. This shared vision of the grand narrative is one of the most effective ways to conceptualize and integrate our growing knowledge of the Universe, society, and human thought. Moreover, without using ‘mega-paradigms’ like Big History, scientists working in different fields may run the risk of losing sight of how each other's tireless work connects and contributes to their own.
    [Show full text]
  • GSA TODAY North-Central, P
    Vol. 9, No. 10 October 1999 INSIDE • 1999 Honorary Fellows, p. 16 • Awards Nominations, p. 18, 20 • 2000 Section Meetings GSA TODAY North-Central, p. 27 A Publication of the Geological Society of America Rocky Mountain, p. 28 Cordilleran, p. 30 Refining Rodinia: Geologic Evidence for the Australia–Western U.S. connection in the Proterozoic Karl E. Karlstrom, [email protected], Stephen S. Harlan*, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 Michael L. Williams, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003-5820, [email protected] James McLelland, Department of Geology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY 13346, [email protected] John W. Geissman, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, [email protected] Karl-Inge Åhäll, Earth Sciences Centre, Göteborg University, Box 460, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden, [email protected] ABSTRACT BALTICA Prior to the Grenvillian continent- continent collision at about 1.0 Ga, the southern margin of Laurentia was a long-lived convergent margin that SWEAT TRANSSCANDINAVIAN extended from Greenland to southern W. GOTHIAM California. The truncation of these 1.8–1.0 Ga orogenic belts in southwest- ern and northeastern Laurentia suggests KETILIDEAN that they once extended farther. We propose that Australia contains the con- tinuation of these belts to the southwest LABRADORIAN and that Baltica was the continuation to the northeast. The combined orogenic LAURENTIA system was comparable in
    [Show full text]
  • Quercus Suber Network
    . .'. -: . ~ -. '. .",;. , . Quercus sub r Network Report of the third and fourth meetings 9-12 June 1996, Sassari, Sardinia, Italy EUFORGEN 20-22 February 1997, Almoraima, Spain 1 J. Turok, M.C. Varela and C. Hansen, compilers EUROPEAN FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES PROGRAMME (EUFORGEN) er rk Report of the third and fourth meetings 9-12 June 1996, Sassari, Sardinia, Italy 20-22 Febnlary 1997, Almoraima, Spain J. Turok, M.C. Varela and C. Hansen, compilers ii EUEORGEN: Quercus suberNEl'WORK The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an autonomous international scientific organization operating under the aegis of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The international status of IPGRI is conferred under an Establislunent Agreement which, by March 1997, had been signed by the Governments of Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Ukraine. IPGRI's mandate is to advance the conservation and use of plant genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations. IPGRI works in partnership with other organizations, undertaking research, training and the provision of scientific and technical advice and information,
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Time
    Alles Introductory Biology Lectures An Introduction to Science and Biology for Non-Majors Instructor David L. Alles Western Washington University ----------------------- Part Three: The Integration of Biological Knowledge The Origin of our Solar System and Geologic Time ----------------------- “Out of the cradle onto dry land here it is standing: atoms with consciousness; matter with curiosity.” Richard Feynman Introduction “Science analyzes experience, yes, but the analysis does not yet make a picture of the world. The analysis provides only the materials for the picture. The purpose of science, and of all rational thought, is to make a more ample and more coherent picture of the world, in which each experience holds together better and is more of a piece. This is a task of synthesis, not of analysis.”—Bronowski, 1977 • Because life on Earth is an effectively closed historical system, we must understand that biology is an historical science. One result of this is that a chronological narrative of the history of life provides for the integration of all biological knowledge. • The late Preston Cloud, a biogeologist, was one of the first scientists to fully understand this. His 1978 book, Cosmos, Earth, and Man: A Short History of the Universe, is one of the first and finest presentations of “a more ample and more coherent picture of the world.” • The second half of this course follows in Preston Cloud’s footsteps in presenting the story of the Earth and life through time. From Preston Cloud's 1978 book Cosmos, Earth, and Man On the Origin of our Solar System and the Age of the Earth How did the Sun and the planets form, and what lines of scientific evidence are used to establish their age, including the Earth’s? 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Mediterranean Oaks Networks
    Mediterranean Oaks Network: First meeting Mediterranean Oaks Network Report of the second meeting 2-4 May 2002–Gozo, Malta M. Bozzano and J. Turok, compilers EUFORGEN European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) Mediterranean Oaks Network Report of the second meeting 2-4 May 2002–Gozo, Malta M. Bozzano and J. Turok, compilers European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) ii EUFORGEN Mediterranean Oaks Network: Second Meeting The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an independent international scientific organization that seeks to advance the conservation and use of plant genetic diversity for the well-being of present and future generations. It is one of 16 Future Harvest Centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private members who support efforts to mobilize cutting-edge science to reduce hunger and poverty, improve human nutrition and health, and protect the environment. IPGRI has its headquarters in Maccarese, near Rome, Italy, with offices in more than 20 other countries worldwide. The Institute operates through three programmes: (1) the Plant Genetic Resources Programme, (2) the CGIAR Genetic Resources Support Programme and (3) the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP). The international status of IPGRI is conferred under an Establishment Agreement which, by January 2003, had been signed by the Governments of Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Ukraine.
    [Show full text]
  • Preston E. Cloud Papers
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2t1nf408 No online items Preliminary Guide to the Preston E. Cloud Papers Preliminary arrangement and description mainly to the box level; latest revision by D. Tambo, Apr. 21, 2004. Department of Special Collections Davidson Library University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Phone: (805) 893-3062 Fax: (805) 893-5749 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/speccoll.html © 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Preliminary Guide to the Preston UArch FacP 5 1 E. Cloud Papers Preliminary Guide to the Preston E. Cloud Papers Collection number: UArch FacP 5 Department of Special Collections Davidson Library University of California, Santa Barbara Processed by: Preliminary arrangement and description mainly to the box level; latest revision by D. Tambo, Apr. 21, 2004. Encoded by: A. Demeter © 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Preston E. Cloud Papers Dates: ca. 1913-1989 Bulk Dates: ca. 1940s-1980s Collection number: UArch FacP 5 Creator: Cloud, Preston, 1912-1991 Collection Size: 48 linear feet (36 records cartons; 1 document box; 3 oversize boxes; 3 map case drawers) Repository: University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Abstract: The collection contains correspondence; organizational and administrative files; research, subject and teaching files; writings; and photographs of the UCSB biogeology professor Preston Cloud. Physical location: SRLF. Languages: English Access Restrictions Collection stored off-site, advance notice required for retrieval. Teaching series includes some restricted student records.
    [Show full text]
  • 2-Web Lecture Notes 2013-3-5
    Lecture Notes for Biology 101: An Introduction to Science and Biology for Non-Majors Instructor David L. Alles Course Outline The organization of this course has been driven by the goal of providing non-majors with a coherent picture of modern biological knowledge. To accomplish this goal it’s necessary that each student gains an appreciation of the nature of science and is introduced to the integrated view of our world that modern science has produced. To facilitate this the course is divided into four parts. Part One: The Nature of Science There are three elements in defining science: 1) the values of science, 2) science as a profession, and 3) the product of science—scientific knowledge. Using this definition, the goal of Part One is to introduce the fundamental nature of the scientific enterprise. Major Units: Defining Science The Epistemic Values of Science The Origin of Modern Science Science as a Profession Part Two: The Conceptual Framework of Biology The goal of Part Two is to introduce the conceptual framework of modern biology. Evolution and historical systems provide the conceptual framework or paradigm for understanding modern biology. But a basic understanding and appreciation of molecular biology is also necessary before we can begin to integrate all of biological knowledge. Major Units: Cosmological Evolution Natural Levels of Organization in the Physical World Biological Evolution Life as a Chemical Function—Biochemistry & Genetics The Modern Synthesis—Darwin and Mendel Part Three: The Integration of Biological Knowledge The purpose of Part Three is to show how biological knowledge can be integrated into a coherent picture of life on Earth.
    [Show full text]
  • WH Edwards Paintings
    Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Vol. 19, No. 2 Bulletin Fall 2007 of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation Inside 4 12th International on display 4 White receives ASBA Award 4 Librarian’s pilgrimage in the footsteps of Linnaeus 4 2007 Lawrence Award recipient 4 2008 Associate membership Hydrangea quercifolia in fall, 2005 watercolor by Noriko Watanabe, one of the 111 artworks in the 12th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration, which runs through 20 December 2007. Current and upcoming exhibits 12th International opens The 12th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration previewed on Thursday, 27 September 2007. The gallery was filled to capacity with some of the finest contemporary botanical art being produced today. We were so pleased that 29 of the 64 artists represented in our exhibition and over 180 American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) members in town for their annual conference at the Holiday Inn Select, Oakland, attended the reception. Our Associates may have been surprised to see our gallery so crowded for those two short hours, but I hope they enjoyed the convivial and celebratory 12th International artists (from left) Dick Rauh, Carol Weld and atmosphere. It was such a pleasure to see botanical artists from Deirdre Bean with Curator of Art James White (third from left). around the world interacting and reconnecting while viewing Photo by Frank A. Reynolds. our exhibition, and it felt like a large family reunion. Many artists remarked that this was our best International to date. and Julia Trickey’s 2006 watercolor Rumex obtusifolius leaf. Images from the reception are available at <http://huntbot.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambrian Explosion: How Do We Use the Evidence?
    Teaching Biology The Cambrian Explosion: How Do We Use the Evidence? JEFFREY S. LEVINTON The Cambrian explosion is an excellent example of a grand idea that has been tempered by the steady collection of data to test hypotheses. Historically, the idea of an “explosion” developed from an apparent lack of bilaterian animal fossils before a certain point in the fossil record, in contrast with a great diversity of life that seemed to appear in the Cambrian period. DNA molecular clock estimates contradict this story, however, with most dates for the divergence of major phyla predating the Cambrian by 100 million to 400 million years. The contradiction might be rectified by corrections to the clock or by discoveries of Precambrian bilaterian fossils. Although many candidates exist, no single environmental or biological explanation for the Cambrian explosion satisfactorily explains the apparent sudden appearance of much of the diversity of bilaterian animal life. Scientists’ understanding of this phenomenon has been greatly amplified in recent years by better geological dating and environmental characterization, new fossil discoveries, and by a great expansion of our knowledge of developmental mechanisms and their evolutionary meaning. Keywords: Cambrian explosion, macroevolution, fossil record, molecular evolution he term “Cambrian explosion” refers to a hypoth- in Wales and England revealed a series of animal forms, with Tesized time when bilaterally symmetrical (bilaterian) the newest rocks containing forms that strongly resembled animal groups of diverse forms diverged from a common living animal species, and the oldest including a series of ancestor during the early part of the Cambrian period, a strata that apparently lacked recognizable animal fossils.
    [Show full text]