Biotic Response to Global Change The Last 145 Million Years [Paperback]

Investigates the reaction of life to global environmental change, for researchers and graduate students.In this book over 40 specialists investigate the reaction of life to global environmental changes that have taken place from Cretac eous times to the present day. During this time the earth's climate changed from a very warm, 'greenhouse' phase with no ice sheets to the 'ice-house' world of today. A wide spectrum of animal, plant and protistan life is discussed, with focus on aspects such as extinctions, diversity and biogeography. This book will form an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, geology, biology, oceanography and climatology departments.In this book over 40 specialists investigate the reaction of life to global environmental changes that have taken place from Cretac eous times to the present day. During this time the earth's climate changed from a very warm, 'greenhouse' phase with no ice sheets to the 'ice-house' world of today. A wide spectrum of animal, plant and protistan life is discussed, with focus on aspects such as extinctions, diversity and biogeography. This book will form an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, geology, biology, oceanography and climatology departments.From Cretaceous times to the present, the Earth's climate changed from a very warm, greenhouse phase with no ice sheets to the ice-house world of today. In this book over forty specialists investigate the many ways that life has reacted to the global environmental changes that have taken place during this period. Coverage details a wide spectrum of animal, plant, and protistan life, with the focus on aspects such as extinctions, diversity, and biogeography. This volume will be an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, geology, biology, oceanography and climatology.List of contributors; Preface; 1. Introduction Stephen J. Culver and Peter F. Rawson; 2. The CrlC‘