Here, a diverse group of geologists and paleobiologists focus their attention on the richly fossiliferous Neogene stratigraphic sections of the Dominican Republic. They provide an updated geological framework and a series of novel studies of evolutionary stasis and change among different lineages and associated ecological communities. This collection of studies illustrates the immense potential of collaborative, multidisciplinary, and field-based paleobiological research.

Leseprobe

Preface Warren D. Allmon Contributors 1. Palaeobiological Research in the Cibao Valley of the Northern Dominican Republic Ross H. Nehm and Ann F. Budd 2. An Overview of the Regional Geology and Stratigraphy of the Neogene Deposits of the Cibao Valley, Dominican Republic Donald F. McNeill, James S. Klaus, Charles C. Evans and Ann F. Budd 3. Constraints on Late Miocene Shallow Marine Seasonality for the Central Caribbean using Oxygen Isotope and Sr/Ca Ratios in a Fossil Coral Rhawn F. Denniston, Stephanie C. Penn and Ann F. Budd 4. Assessing the Effects of Taphonomic Processes on Palaeobiological Patterns using Turbinid Gastropod Shells and Opercula Ross H. Nehm and Caroles S. Hickman 5. Early evolution of the Montastraea "annularis" species complex (Anthozoa: Scleractinia): Evidence from the Mio-Pliocene of the Dominican Republic Ann F. Budd and James S. Klaus 6. Evolutionary Patterns within the Reef Coral Siderastrea in the Mio-Pliocene of the Dominican Republic Brain R. Beck and Ann F. Budd 7. Neogene Evolution of the Reef Coral Species Complex Montastraea "Cavernosa" Holly A. Schultz and Ann F. Budd 8. The Dynamics of Evolutionary Stasis and Change in the a¿¿Prunum maoense Group¿ Ross H. Nehm 9. Assessing Community Change in Miocene to Pliocene Coral Assemblages of the Northern Dominican Republic James S. Klaus, Ann F. Budd, Kenneth G. Johnson and Donald F. McNeill 10. Mollusc Assemblage Variability in the Rio Gurabo Section (Dominican Republic Neogene): Implications for Species-level Stasis Rysanek Rivera, Jermaine Lawson, Maria Harvey and Ross H. Nehm 11. The Impact of Fossils from the Northern Dominican Republic on Origination Estimates for Miocene and Pliocene Caribbean Reef Corals Kenneth G. Johnson, Ann F. Budd, James S. Klaus and Donald F. McNeill 12. Science Education and the Dominican Republic Project Ross H. Nehm, Ann. F. Budd, and Jupiter Luna 13. The Neogene Marine Biota of Tropical America (a¿¿NMITA¿) database: Integrating data from the Dominican Republic Project Ann. F. Budd, Tiffany S. Adrain, Juw Won Park, James S. Klaus and Kenneth G. Johnson