Ostracods (Crustacea) and their palaeoenvironmental implication for the Solimões Formation (Late Miocene; Western Amazonia/Brazil).

Western Amazonia's landscape and biota were shaped by an enormous wetland during the Miocene epoch. Among the most discussed topics of this ecosystem range the question on the transitory influx of marine waters. Inter alia the occurrence of typically brackish water associated ostracods is repeatedly consulted to infer elevated salinities or even marine ingressions.

Ostracods and stable isotopes: proxies for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

Carbon and oxygen stable isotope distribution is widely used for palaeoenvironmental studies. In the last 30 years these geochemical techniques were also applied on ostracod shells in particular for reconstruction of non-marine settings. The aim of this paper is to provide a general overview on methods applied and results obtained by stable isotope studies.