DrMark Warne

Research projects
Systematic classification of fossil and living marine Ostracoda
Palaeoceanographical studies using fossil Ostracoda
Marine stratigraphy of the Bass Strait coastal hinterland
Marine biogeography and palaeobiogeography
Palaeoenvironmental studies on south-east Australian estuaries

Research themes
Mark Warne's research focuses on fossil and living Ostracoda. These
microscopic shrimp-like aquatic animals live in a minute bi-valved shell
(carapace), which is usually composed of the mineral calcite (CaCO3). These
crustaceans have a long fossil record, with ostracod-like forms extending back
to the Cambrian Period (~ 500 million years ago). At the present day,
ostracods live in a huge diversity of aquatic environments, ranging from moist
forest floors, creeks and rivers, lakes and lagoons, swamps and bogs, caves
and aquifers, to coastal rock pools, shallow shelf seas, and deep ocean
realms. They reach their highest species diversities in shallow marine
environments. The main application of fossil ostracods to the geological
sciences is in the interpretation of depositional environments for sedimentary
rocks. The main use of ostracods within the environmental sciences is as
proxies of environmental change in aquatic ecosystems.

International involvements
Mark Warne is a member of the Subcommission on Neogene Stratigraphy

(affilated body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy and 

International Union of Geosciences). He is also currently the secretary for the

International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO), and council member for the International Palaeontological Association (IPA).

Recorded conference presentations

1. Australian Earth Science Convention presentation 2021. Rafted benthic microfossils as proxies of Neogene ocean current history in the Bass Strait seaway, SE Australia: https://vimeo.com/506872628/69e6052369

2. Nineteenth International Symposium on Ostracoda presentation 2022. The Pliocene arrival of the ‘Ambostracom pumilum’ species group in Australasia via the vector of Shearwater (seabird) migration: http://media.univ-lyon1.fr/2022/iso2022/videos/Warne.mp4