The Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative was highly acknowledged by Mr. Kamil Zágoršek to support his work in IOCAS in Qingdao.

On April 28th, Mr. Kamil Zágoršek gave us the lecture focusing on possibilities of how to use bryozoans in ecological and paleo-biogeographical studies, after the short introduction to living (and fossil) bryozoans with explanations of differences between the bryozoans and the most commonly misinterpreted groups like corals and sponges, 

Here are some main points of Mr. Kamil Zágoršek’s lecture.

To use Bryozoa in any synthesis, we need to provide very detailed and thorough taxonomical study. For example, in Tamagawa (northern Honshu – Japan), we find reteporiform bryozoans, which is very similar to Recent species Schizoretepora tumescens. However, the detail SEM study shows the differences, so we are able to establish a new species Schizoretepora tamagawensis sp.n.

In Miocene sediment of Paratethys we study the distribution of several bryozoans species. The results show, that practically same species dominate in all sections. Only Bryozoa from Turkey are different: they are more tropical and deep (about 100m). However, general trend: warming from north to south was observable. The species composition slightly changed from dominance of Tervia, Metrarabdotos, Onychocella, Schizoporella geminipora to dominance of Cribellopora, Nellia, Reusirella and Steginoporella. Anyway, the local environmental conditions buried the large differences.  

The main part of the lecture dealing with question, how distribution of bryozoans in time and space may help us to understand the sea way connections in geological history and therefore better understand the changes of water currents and its effect into the benthic and perhaps also whole marine life. For example, the distribution of Jaculinidae shows distribution from Miocene of Brazil to Recent of Mediterranean, while distribution of Skylonidae shows distribution from Eocene of Paratethys to Miocene of Brazil. Is it means change of ocean current? Did the general trends of Atlantic current change? According to our results it seems, that the currents in Atlantic changed from east to west (from Paratethys to south Atlantic) during Eocene to Miocene time, to west to east current (from south Atlantic to Mediterranean) during Miocene to Recent time.  

This change of water currents were shown also on other examples, like distribution of Chlidoniopsidae and Costaticelidae.  

In the end of the lecture the future work in IOCAS in Qingdao was discussed.