At the end of the course, the student will be able to recognize a series of microorganisms (in the modern environments) and microfossils (mainly
in microfacies) and will have the knowledge to make a paleoenvironmental reconstruction, by inserting it in the chronostratigraphic context. Through laboratory exercises, he/she have got to know and put into practice the phases of work related to some studies of the applied micropaleontology.

General knowledge of the paleontological topics: fossilization, evolution, applications of paleontology.
These topics should have already been learned in the course of Paleontology, generally offered in Bachelor's degree teaching.

The course consists of three parts.

1 - General Part.
Introduction to Micropaleontology, purposes and applications. In-depth study of parts already covered in the Paleontology course.
Sediment samples from a wide range of current and ancient sedimentary environments are discussed and analyzed in lecture and laboratory. The general and micropaleontological considerations obtained from these analyses introduce Part 2 and 3 of the course.

2 - Microfossils, characteristics and applications.

3 - Study of carbonate microfacies, with biostratigraphic application.

In-depth thematic seminars will be possible.

• For the general part (ecology, paleoecology, environmental factors, zonation of marine environments, populations and paleoenvironments):

RAFFI S., E. Serpagli (1993) - Introduzione alla paleontologia. UTET ed.), 654 pp.

• For the general taxonomy:

HAQ B.U., BOERSMA A. (1998) – Introduction to marine micropaleontology. 2nd ediction, 376 pp. eBook ISBN: 9780080534961

AMSTRONG & BRASIER (2005) - Microfossils, Blackwell Publ. 296 pp.

• For the microfacies:

WAGNER C.W. (1964) - Manual of lager foraminifera. Generic determination and Stratigraphic value. The Hague Expl. & Product. (ed.), 307 pp.

SARTORIO D., S. Venturini (1988) - Southern Tethys biofacies. AGIP s.p.a. (ed.), pp. 235.

SCHOLLE P.A. & ULMER-SCHOLLE D.S. (2003) - A Color Guide to the Petrography of Carbonate Rocks: Grains, textures, porosity, diagenesis. https://doi.org/10.1306/M77973

Course slides and other teaching materials are provided through the Moodle platform. Any other text in accordance with the program can be helpful.

The course deals with the general knowledge of the main microfossils in relation to their stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental utilization. Some concepts of ecology (ecosystem, biotope, ecological niche) and actuopaleontology (environmental parameters and organism distributions) are discussed. The general systematic and ecologic characters of organisms with organic test (Acritarcs, Dinoflagellates, Spore e Pollen), calcareous test (Coccolitoforids, Calpionellids, Pteropods, Foraminifers, Ostracods, and Calcareous algae) and silica test (Silicoflagellates, Diatoms, Radiolarians) are described.
The study of carbonate microfacies with the definition, interpretation, and applications of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic microfacies will be addressed, with application of previous knowledge for paleoenvironmental interpretation placed in a biostratigraphic context. Geological and paleobiological events.
The course is completed by laboratory and microscopy activities on recent and ancient
microfossils.

Lectures and tutorials under the microscope and laboratory

Keywords: microrganism, ecology, paleoecology, biostratigraphy

The student's examination includes a microscopic test of the fossils identification in carbonate microfacies and/or in incoherent sediments, followed by a discussion on the results obtained and the topics covered during the course of study. To achieve the maximum score (30/30 cum laude), the student must demonstrate to have acquired an excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course, answering correctly all the questions and carrying out correctly the part dedicated to the identification.

This course explores topics closely related to one or more goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs)