paleantology
One of the principal objectives of geologists studying sedimentary rocks is the reconstruction of the environment in which the rocks were deposited. Correct reconstruction may result in the discovery of oilfields, deposits of salts, or base metals, and provide insight to our earth's past. As evidence to ancient environments the geologist has the structures, textures, and composition of the grains that make up the sediments, and the fossils preserved in them. Organisms are far more sensitive to, and therefore diagnostic of, the environment in whixh they live than are the grains of sediment to the environment in which they were deposited. A study of the way of life and environmental requirements of organisms that become fossils therefore yields the most accurate information about the environment in which sediments were formed.Ecology is the study of the relations between modern organisms and the environments in which they live; paleoecology is the study of these relations between species represented in the fossil record and the environments they inhabited. Unlike ecologists, the paleoecolgist has to work with organisms that are no longer alive and are very often misrepresented in the fossil record. Despite the limitations o
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Behaviou Coevolution, , Fossils Life, modern organisms, preserved organisms, paleoecological evidence, oxygen isotopes, direct evidence, paleoecological reconstruction, ancient environments, modern communities, ancient ecosystems, isotope levels,
Approximate Word count = 1116
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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