Speaker: Professor Catherine Reid (GSNZ President)
Catherine’s talk will take you back to the Palaeozoic and the wonderful world of bryozoans to explore what these fossil colonial invertebrates can tell us about the capacity of their modern relatives to deal with future ocean chemistry and temperature changes. Bryozoans were a key part of Palaeozoic ecosystems that suffered badly through the end-Permian extinction. As a group, bryozoans recovered and are an important part of modern marine ecosystems again, largely in temperate settings, where they form thickets supporting numerous other marine animals.
Catherine is a palaeontologist with a varied background in modern and Cenozoic foraminifera, Palaeozoic bryozoans and carbonate sedimentology. Her current research continues these themes especially the application of foraminifera in the interpretation of late Holocene sediment records and the impact of European arrival on sedimentation in estuary and harbour settings.
Catherine is a Professor in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury, and current President of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand.
Contact: manawatu@gsnz.org.nz
