02236nas a2200121   4500008004100000245007300041210006900114520176600183100001701949700002601966700001901992856010302011       2012                        eng d00aMollusk faunas as indirect indicators for palaeo-seagrass vegetation0 aMollusk faunas as indirect indicators for palaeoseagrass vegetat3 a<p>Seagrass ecosystems play an important role in sedimentation processes and nutrient cycling and support local biodiversity by providing food and shelter for numerous associated organisms. These ecosystems have been around since the Late Cretaceous. In order to understand their emergence in geological time and their response to past perturbations we have to be able to recognize seagrass communities in the fossil record. However, seagrass itself hardly fossilizes and therefore we are searching for indirect indicators to recognize ancient seagrass vegetation. In this contribution we review molluscan evidence for palaeo-seagrass settings. Indicator species are rare since the majority of seagrass associated molluscs occurs in other marine habitats as well. Furthermore, those habitats appear to be patchy, both spatial and temporal, resulting in mixed occurrences of seagrass and non-seagrass faunas. Often only the high abundance of certain mollusc groups and the general taxonomic composition of a fauna points to seagrass environments. However, the distribution of gastropod trophic guilds in species richness versus abundance data appears to yield patterns that may be very characteristic for the identification of fossil seagrass associated faunas. We are currently applying Indirect PaleoSeagrass Indicators (IPSI&rsquo;s) to a number of fossil and modern shelly samples, both from seagrass and non-seagrass environments. We also briefly review potential sedimentary and geochemical IPSI&rsquo;s as well as fossil groups different than molluscs. Identifying seagrass environments enables us to assess diversity trends in such ecosystems through time and to study their response over time intervals with major environmental and climate change.</p>
1 aReich, Sonja1 aWesselingh, Frank, P.1 aRenema, Willem  uhttps://ipaeg.myspecies.info/content/mollusk-faunas-indirect-indicators-palaeo-seagrass-vegetation00609nas a2200121   4500008004100000245012600041210006900167260005500236100001700291700002600308700001900334856013400353       2011                        eng d00aMolluscs from underwater meadows - on the Miocene diversification of Indo-Pacific molluscan faunas associated to seagrass0 aMolluscs from underwater meadows on the Miocene diversification   aNCB Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlandsc09.12.20111 aReich, Sonja1 aWesselingh, Frank, P.1 aRenema, Willem  uhttps://ipaeg.myspecies.info/content/molluscs-underwater-meadows-miocene-diversification-indo-pacific-molluscan-faunas-associated00599nas a2200121   4500008004100000245011800041210006900159260005400228100001700282700002600299700001900325856013300344       2011                        eng d00aReconstructing the origin of the Indo-Malayan marine biodiversity hotspot - First glimpses from the fossil record0 aReconstructing the origin of the IndoMalayan marine biodiversity  aViennabContributions to Paleontologyc12/09/20111 aReich, Sonja1 aWesselingh, Frank, P.1 aRenema, Willem  uhttps://ipaeg.myspecies.info/content/reconstructing-origin-indo-malayan-marine-biodiversity-hotspot-first-glimpses-fossil-record00508nas a2200097   4500008004100000245010400041210006900145260005400214100001700268856012500285       2011                        eng d00aMolluscs from underwater meadows - An Early Miocene seagrass mollusc community from Java, Indonesia0 aMolluscs from underwater meadows An Early Miocene seagrass mollu  aViennabContributions to Paleontologyc12/09/20111 aReich, Sonja  uhttps://ipaeg.myspecies.info/content/molluscs-underwater-meadows-early-miocene-seagrass-mollusc-community-java-indonesia