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Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
Bryozoans are colonial marine organisms, found in the fossil record since the early Ordovician. They have many possible applications in palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Their presence or absence, diversity and abundance, zooid morphology, colonial plasticity, colonial growth form, and reef-like structures all provide information about habitat. Temperature, salinity, water energy, water depth, substrate character, sedimentation rate, and even tectonic stability, may be indicated by bryozoan faunas. Examples are given to show palaeoecological applications of bryozoans, from shelf and deep-sea sediment studies to interpretation of Tertiary limestones and Palaeozoic environments. Caution is needed, particularly in interpreting very ancient faunas, due to the confounding factors of sampling bias, interdependent controls, taxonomic evolution and taphonomic selectivity. Bryozoans are nevertheless a tool of considerable value in palaeoenvironmental interpretation, particularly if corroborated with other lines of evidence.
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  J. Halfar, M. Strasser, B. Riegl, and L. Godinez-Orta Oceanography, sedimentology and acoustic mapping of a bryomol carbonate factory in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2006; 255: 197 - 215. [Abstract] [PDF]
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