Fossil Algae: Recent Results and Developments

Algae and Algal Carbonates are of interest to geo- and bioscientists because of the significant interactions between algal life and environ- ment. Much information about systematical, morphological and eco- logical data of fossil algae has been accumulated during the last two decades. Facies interpretation, sedimentology, and biostratigraphic correlations, as well as speculations about Precambrian ecosystems have received new impulses from the detailed study of Recent algae and their fossil counterparts. During the First International Symposium on Fossil Algae, orga- nized by the Institute of Paleontology of the University Erlangen- Niirnberg in October 1975, about 130 scientists were able to discuss the present status of knowledge; 55 lectures were given, 37 of which now have been chosen for publication. Some of these articles comprehend fundamental reviews on algal groups and algal constructions, such as Monty on the stromatolites, Herak et al. and the "French Group" on the dasyclads, and Wray and Poignant on the Paleozoic and Mesozoic red algae. Other articles deal with the biology and morphology of blue-green algae, with the arduous problem of the affinities of many algae and "pseudo-algae", with bio- metrical methods and with the ultrastructure of calcareous algae. A broad section of this book is reserved for some stimulating papers about the role of algae as facies indicators and sedimentological factors in Recent and Ancient environments. Thanks to the gratefully accepted co-operation of many collegues, we hope this book may offer a good cross-section through main trends of recent algal research.

Table of Contents:
Blue-Green Algae and Stromatolites.- 1 Interpretation of Microbial Fossils with Special Reference to the Precambrian.- 2 Evolving Concepts on the Nature and the Ecological Significance of Stromatolites: A Review.- 3 Primary Production, Mat Formation and Lithification: Contribution of Oxygenic and Facultative Anoxygenic Cyanophytes (Cyanobacteria).- 4 Skeletal Stromatolites.- 5 Environmental Significance of Foraminiferal-Algal Oncolites.- 6 Stromatolites from the Precambrian Transvaal Dolomite of NE-Transvaal, South Africa.- 7 Environmental Significance of Upper Proterozoic Algal Stromatolites from Zambia.- 8 Stromatolites and Thrombolites in Precambrian/Cambrian Boundary Beds of the Anti-Atlas, Morocco - Preliminary Results.- 9 Riphean Stromatolites from Western Lower Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India.- 10 Distribution of Stromatolites and Stromatolitic Reefs in the Precambrian of lndia.- 11 Sedimentpetrographical and Geochemical Studies of the Late Precambrian Stromatolites of India.- 12 Algal Remains in the Lower Cambrian Bonavista Formation, Conception Bay, Southeastern Newfoundland.- 13 Stromatolites from the Zechstein Limestone (Upper Permian) of Poland.- 14 A Possible Bacterial Origin for Famennian Micrites.- Green Algae.- 15 The Development of the Dasyclad Algae through the Ages.- 16 Classification Criteria of Fossil Dasycladales.- Red Algae.- 17 Late Paleozoic Calcareous Red Algae.- 18 The Mesozoic Red Algae: A General Survey.- 19 A Comparison of the Anatomical Structures of a Recent and a Fossil Species of the Corallinaceae.- 20 Reproduction Cycle of an Oncolithic Red Alga (Nemalionales) of the Lacustrine Miocene of Euboa (Greece).- Problems of Affinities.- 21 Problems of Affinity in Palaeozoic Calcareous Algae.- 22 Receptaculitids are Calcareous Algae but no Dasyclads.- 23 On Moravamminida and Aoujgaliida (Porifera, Ischyrospongia) - Upper Paleozoic "Pseudo Algae".- Biometry.- 24 Statistical Analysis of Fossil Algae.- Ultrastructure.- 25 Skeletal Structures of Some Calcifying Algae.- Algae and Sedimentary Environments.- 26 Role of Calcareous Algae in Atlantic Continental Margin Sedimentation.- 27 Carbonate Construction and Decomposition by Epilithic and Endolithic Micro-organisms in Salt- and Freshwater.- 28 Carbonate Cementation in Recent Coralline Algal Constructions.- 29 Ecological Studies on two Carbonate Sediment-Producing Algae.- 30 The Coralline Algae from the Miocene Ziqlag Formation in Israel and Their Environmental Significance.- 31 Paleogeographic Significance of Rhodolites: Some Examples from the Miocene of France and Turkey.- 32 The Lower Cretaceous Calcareous Algae in the Area Surrounding Geneva (Switzerland). Biostratigraphy and Depositional Environments.- 33 Relationships of Algae with Depositional Environments and Faunal Assemblages of the Panormide Carbonate Platform, Upper Triassic, Northwestern Sicily.- 34 Environmental Models for Upper Paleozoic Benthic Calcareous Algal Communities.- 35 Devonian Calcareous Algae from the Dinant and Namur Basins, Belgium.- 36 Some Ordocivian and Silurian Algae from Selected Areas of the Southwestern United States.- 37 Early Cambrian Algal Carbonates in Southern Spain.- Index of Generic and Species Names.