Instructors:  T. Tsourou; P. Papadopoulou; P. Freznel

SEMESTER: 2nd  

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

The course deals with the study of Ostracoda, focusing on their description, classification, (paleo)ecology and their applications to (paleo)environmental studies.

 

CONTENT:  

Theoretical content (lectures). 

• Introduction. History of ostracod research. Biology, morphology and life-cycle of Ostracoda.  

• Carapace/valve morphology identification and classification. 

• Systematic taxonomy and evolutionary history of Ostracoda.  

• Ostracod ecology, distribution patterns and environmental controls in marine, marginal marine and freshwater environments.  

• Synthesis and bathymetric distribution of modern ostracod assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea.  

• Paleoenvironmental applications of marine and freshwater ostracods. Ostracods as indices of climatic changes and sea level changes. Shell–environment interaction. Ostracod shell chemistry as a paleo-environmental tool.  

• Ostracods in Biostratigraphy.  

• Industrial applications. 

 

Β. Practical exercises: 

• Sampling and preparation techniques 

• Comprehensive microscope lab sessions  

• Ostracod study in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) 

• Exercises on interpreting paleoenvironmental conditions. Quantitative methods and data statistical treatment. 

 

BREAKDOWN OF WORKLOAD  

Activity	Semester Workload (hours)
Face to face (in lectures and practical exercises)	39
Using computers, tablets, smartphones and specialized software (in lectures and practical exercises)	10
Laboratory exercises	39
Questions and Answers	10
Preparation for final examination and/or project presentation	27
Total	125

STUDENT EVALUATION/GRADING 

The evaluation process is conducted in English, either with progress in separate sections of the material or with the final examination of the whole material and includes: 

I. LECTURES (50%)  

• Oral Examination and/or 

• Written exam with short answer questions and Multiple choice test and/or 

• Written examination with extended Answer questions and/or  

• Scientific presentation in a specific topic related to the subject of the course  

II. PRACTICAL EXERCISES (50%) 

• Written examination with exercises and problem solving 

 

SUGGESTED LITERATURE 

• Athersuch, J., Horne, D. J., & Whittaker, J. E. (1989). Marine and brackish water ostracods (superfamilies Cypridacea and Cytheracea): keys and notes for the identification of the species (Vol. 43). Brill Archive. 

• Holmes, J. A., & Chivas, A. R. (2002). The Ostracoda: applications in Quaternary research. Geophysical Monograph Series, 131. 

• Horne, D. J., Holmes, J. A., Rodriguez-Lazaro, J., & Viehberg, F. A. (2012). Ostracoda as proxies for Quaternary climate change: overview and future prospects. Developments in Quaternary Sciences, 17, 305-315. 

• Smith AJ, Horne DJ, Martens K, Schön I ( 2015 ). Chapter 30 Class Ostracoda . Thorp and Covich’s Freshwater Invertebrates , Elsevier  

• Meisch, C. (2000). Freshwater Ostracoda of western and central Europe. Sußwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa 8/3. 

• Karanovic, I. (2012). Recent freshwater ostracods of the world: Crustacea, Ostracoda, Podocopida. Springer Science & Business Media. 

• Quante, E., Pint, A., & Frenzel, P. (2022). Nonmarine Ostracoda as proxies in (geo‐) archaeology—A review. Geoarchaeology, 37(5), 711-732. 

• Frenzel P., Keyser D., Viehberg F.A., 2010. An illustrated key and (palaeo)ecological primer for Postglacial to recent Ostracoda (Crustacea) of the Baltic Sea. Boreas, 39 (3), pp. 567-575, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00135.x 

• Cronin, T. M. (2015). Ostracods and sea level. Handbook of Sea‐Level Research, 249-257. 

• Tsourou, Th. (2012). Composition and Distribution of Recent Marine Ostracod Assemblages in the Bottom Sediments of Central Aegean Sea (SE Andros Island, Greece). International Review of Hydrobiology. 97. 276-300. 

• Papadopoulou, P., Tsoni, M., & Iliopoulos, G. (2020). Pleistocene ostracods from central and southern Greece: The marine and brackish record. Revue de Micropaléontologie, 69, 100448. 

• Do Carmo, D.A., Pinto, R.L., Martens, K. (2012). Ostracoda: Biostratigraphy and Applied Ecology – Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Ostracoda, Brasilia (Brazil), 26-30 July 2009. Hydrobiologia, 688. 

 

SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS: 

• Marine Micropaleontology 

• Micropaleontology 

• Revue de Micropaleontologie 

• Zootaxa 

• Hydrobiologia 

• Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 

 

Website: 

https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/GEOL661