The Micropalaeontological Society

The Micropalaeontological Society was founded in 1970 as the British Micropalaeontological Group (BMG) with the stated aim of furthering the study of micropalaeontology. The primary founder of the BMG was Professor Leslie Rowsell Moore (1912–2003) of the University of Sheffield. The principal aims of the BMG were to host scientific meetings and to organise multidisciplinary micropalaeontological research on British type sections from all systems, and publish the results. The inaugural committee and technical meetings of the BMG were held in Imperial College London in 1971.[2][3] The Group was organised by a main committee and had five specialist groups. The latter were the conodont, foraminifera, ostracods, pollen, spores, and non-calcareous microplankton (i.e. palynology), and other special micropalaeontological interests.

In 1975, the BMG became the British Micropalaeontological Society (BMS) and it produced its first publication, a newsletter The British Micropalaeontologist.[4] In 2001 the Society changed its name to The Micropalaeontological Society (TMS), to reflect the increasing international profile and membership. There are currently (2014) six specialist groups, namely Calcareous Nannofossil, Foraminifera, Microvertebrate, Ostracod, Palynology and Silicofossil. Members of TMS may elect to be part of one or more of these groups. Specialist group and general meetings are held throughout the year and the Annual General Meeting is traditionally held each November.

The society is one of the three main UK-based palaeontological societies and collaborates with the Palaeontological Association the Palaeontographical Society and the Geological Society of London via the Joint Committee for Palaeontology.

The society produces the Newsletter of Micropalaeontology twice a year. In 1982 the association initiated its serial journal, the Journal of Micropalaeontology.[5] Between 1982 and 1983, one issue per year was produced; this was increased to two parts per annum in 1984. The journal i now fully open access, and is currently published by Copernicus Publication. Prior to this the society published occasional publications such as stratigraphical atlases of individual microfossil groups and conference proceedings and the Stereo Atlas of Ostracod Shells (published 1973-1998). In 2003 the society changed the publication model from essentially self-publishing to using the Geological Society Publishing House (GSPH) for all matters associated with production and distribution. The GSPH now produces all the society Special Publications. To date, there have been 6 Micropalaeontology Special Publications produced with the GSPH:

• TMS006 - Landmarks in Foraminiferal Micropalaeontology: History and Development. Edited by A.J. Bowden, F.J. Gregory and A.S. Henderson.[6]
• TMS005 - Biological and Geological Perspectives of Dinoflagellates. Edited by F. Marret, J.M. Lewis & L.R. Bradley.[7]
• TMS004 - Micropalaeontology, Sedimentary Environments and Stratigraphy: A Tribute to Dennis Curry (1912-2001). Edited by J. E. Whittaker and M. B. Hart.[8]
• TMS003 - Ostracods in British Stratigraphy. Edited by J. E. Whittaker and M. B. Hart.[9]
• TMS002 - Deep-Time Perspectives on Climate Change: Marrying the Signal from Computer Models and Biological Proxies. Edited by M Williams, A M Haywood, J Gregory & D N Schmidt.[10]
• TMS001 - Recent Developments in Applied Biostratigraphy. Edited by A. J. Powell & J. B. Riding.[11]

The main committee comprises a President, Secretary and Treasurer, who each have a three-year term of office. The main committee also includes the editors of the Journal, Special Publications and Newsletter, as well as the Membership Secretary, Webmaster, Publicity Officer, Industrial Liaison Officer and Archivist. They are elected for a three-year term of office and are eligible to stand for a second term. At each main committee meeting a representative of each specialist group (currently Calcareous Nannofossil, Foraminifera, Microvertebrate, Ostracod, Palynology and Silicofossil) should be present. Group Representative positions are normally held for two years.

The Society offers a variety of awards and honours to the micropalaeontological community, including the Brady Medal, the Alan Higgins Award for Applied Micropaleontology, the Charles Downie Award, Honorary Memberships, Student Awards, Grants-in-Aid, TMS Educational Trust Awards.