Planktonic ecosystems of the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous (calcareous nannoplankton, calpionellids)

The presented PhD thesis is compiled as a commentary to four published papers, which deal with planktonic assamblages of the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous, namely with calcareous nannofossils and calpionellids. The first part of the dissertation thesis describes the main characteristics of the studied fossil groups with focus on their morphology, palaeoecology, evolution and systematics. The chapter of calcareous nannoplankton gives special attention to the biostratigraphicaly important genus Nannoconus Kampter 1931. Next chapters describe the methods of the laboratory processing of the sediments and the geological settings of the studied areas. The thesis is focused on two areas. At first the selected localities in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, i.e. Upper Turonian and Upper Coniacian, are described. Generally, the Upper Cretaceous platform sediments of the middle European basins are rich in calcareous nannoplankton. These fossils represent important marker for biostratigraphical and palaeoecological interpretations. The second part describes carbonate rocks of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of the Tethyan area. In this case, calcareous nannoplankton and calpionellids are an essential part of the modern multidisciplinary form of the Jurassic- Cretaceous (J/K) boundary interval research...