Advances in Stromatolite Geobiology

Stromatolites are the most intriguing geobiological structures of the entire earth history since the beginning of the fossil record in the Archaean. Stromatolites and microbialites are interpreted as biosedimentological remains of biofilms and microbial mats. These structures are important environmental and evolutionary archives which give us information about ancient habitats, biodiversity, and evolution of complex benthic ecosystems. However, many geobiological aspects of these structures are still unknown or only poorly understood. The present proceedings highlight the new ideas and information on the formation and environmental setting of stromatolites presented at the occasion of the Kalkowsky Symposium 2008, held in Göttingen, Germany.

Joachim Reitner: Professor (chair) for Paleontology and Geobiology, director of the Department of Geobiology and the Courant Research Centre of Geobiology at the University of Göttingen. Awardee of the DFG G.W.-Leibniz award and ordinary member of the Göttingen Academy of Science. Coordinator of the DFG research unit 571 "Geobiology of Organo- and Biofilms"

Nadia-Valérie Quéric:PhD in microbial ecology of deep marine sediments at the University of Bremen. Research assistant for geomicrobiology at the Department of Geobiology of the University of Göttingen.

Gernot Arp:PhD in paleontology and geobiology of ancient microbial systems at the University of Göttingen. Research associate for paleontology and geomicrobiology at the Department of Geobiology of the University of Göttingen. Associate coordinator of the DFG research unit 571 "Geobiology of Organo- and Biofilms".

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