Overview -- Deep time and actualism in paleoecological reconstruction -- Ecology, paleoecology, and evolutionary paleoecology -- Taphonomy -- Bioturbation and trace fossils -- Microbial structures -- Across the great divide: precambrian to phanerozoic paleoecology -- Phanerozoic level bottom marine environments -- Reefs, shell beds, cold seeps, and hydrothermal vents -- Pelagic ecosystems -- Terrestrial ecosystems -- Ecological change through time -- Ecological consequences of mass extinctions -- Conservation paleoecology.