Peta J. Mudie,^1,*,** Robert A. Fensome,^1,*** André Rochon,^2,**** Koraljka Bakračhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2520-411X<sup>3,*****

1</sup>aNatural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada Atlantic, Bedford Institute of Oceanography,
²bInstitut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Canada
³cCroatian Geological Survey, Zagreb, Croatia

^*CONTACT Peta J. Mudie mudiep@ns.sympatico.ca Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada Atlantic, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O.Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
^**Peta J. Mudie has studied the Pliocene–Recent palynology of Mediterranean seas, including the Arctic Ocean, first as a post-doctoral student at Dalhousie University, then as a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, combined with joint adjunct appointments at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Dalhousie University, for 35 years. Her field work includes four seasons on an ice island in the Canadian Arctic, work on Arctic icebreakers and ocean drilling ships, and International Geological Correlation Program excursions to Neogene–Pleistocene type sections around the Black Sea.
^***Robert A. Fensome is a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada in their Atlantic Division at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. During his 34-year tenure at GSC, Rob has focussed mainly on the Mesozoic–Cenozoic dinoflagellate cysts from offshore eastern Canada, but is now venturing into projects involving assemblages from north-western and Arctic Canada. While biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental studies justify his paycheque, he also has a strong interest in dinoflagellate evolution.
^****André Rochon has studied marine palynology of Pleistocene, Holocene and modern sediments of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans for the last 25 years, and collaborated on studies of the Marmara Sea. He also recently began working on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in the South Atlantic Ocean along the Argentinian coastline and in Brazilian waters. His expertise includes the use of dinoflagellate cysts as proxy indicators of sea surface conditions and as invasive species in ballast water, cyst–theca relationships, algal culturing and distribution of dinoflagellates in Arctic phytoplankton.
^*****Koraljka BakraČ is a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Croatia in their Geological Department. She has focused mainly on the Cenozoic dinoflagellate cysts from the central Paratethys Sea – their stratigraphy and ecology. Most recently she has worked on projects involving Holocene palynomorph assemblages from the eastern Adriatic Sea and coastal lakes. This work includes spores and pollen as well as non-pollen palynomorphs.