#paleoecology — Public Fediverse posts

It is a uniquely humbling experience to realize that the microscopic apex predators of epochs past are merely sleeping beneath the ice, wholly indifferent to the passage of human history. The concept of a "zombie virus" might initially sound like the sensationalized plot of a science fiction novel, but—
#Paleovirology #StructuralMicrobiology #Biogeochemistry #Paleoecology #Epidemiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/08/wi08252601.html

Paleoecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales.
#Paleoecology #EarthScience #Ecology #AtmosphericScience #Biology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/08/cat08242601.html

During the Late Pleistocene, ancient cave hyenas (Crocuta spelaea) in the Ural region actively hunted and consumed large herbivores, including bison, giant deer, and woolly rhinoceroses, rather than exclusively scavenging remains left by other predators.
#Paleontology #Paleoecology #Zoology (#Mammalogy ) #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/08/pal08242601.html

"Climate change is demonstrably linked to radiations, extinctions, and turnovers in the biosphere throughout the Phanerozoic", unsurprisingly, that also extends to earlier life.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1130/B39047.1

#Paleoecology #ClimateChange #Ediacaran #Science

New to #Coprolites or #PoopScience but almost 20 years of #International #Research left their mark on multiple subjects including #biology #paleontology #macroevolution #paleoecology #parasitology #biogeography #geoscience #stratigraphy #physiology #taphonomy straddling the #Phanerozoic and #World

A 385 kg Iberian bear once filled a niche cave bears never occupied. New fossil and island biodiversity research both point to the same lesson: today’s “natural” baselines are already reshaped by millennia of human pressure. #Paleoecology #Archaeogenetics #HumanEvolution https://www.anthropology.net/p/the-baseline-that-keeps-moving

There is a layer in Late Triassic rocks in Europe called ‘the dark zone’, because it's full of darkening of pollen and spores. Its origin is in forest collapse and intense fires during the end-Triassic mass extinction.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-026-02048-4

#Triassic #MassExtinction #Paleoecology #Forest

Let's say something killed ~90% of life on a planet, like in the Great Dying here on Terra. How long is it going to take the ecology to recover, and where will it start? (~5Myr and surprisingly heavy on the top of the food chain).

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-025-00117-2

#PTB #MassExtinction #Paleoecology #Recovery

We got a new paper out!
The Late Miocene Mediterranean had some stark gradients from east to west. But did they have any effect on the biology? The ecology? Reefs?
We show it did!

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018226004864

#Miocene #Reefs #Paleoecology #Mediterranean

https://www.europesays.com/ie/443692/ Ancient teeth unlock million-year-old secrets of where early humans evolved #AfarRegion #AncientDiets #AustralopithecusAfarensis #ClimateChangeHistory #EarlyHumans #EastAfricanRiftValley #Éire #FossilTeeth #HumanEvolution #IE #Ireland #NewDiscoveries #paleoecology #Research #Science #ToothEnamel

During the Late Miocene epoch, massive volcanic eruptions in the Andes deposited nutrient-rich ash into the Southern Ocean, triggering widespread marine algae blooms that simultaneously fueled the evolution of gigantic whales, caused localized mass mortality events, and significantly cooled the Earth by drawing atmospheric carbon dioxide into the sea.
#Geoscience #Paleoecology #Paleoclimatology #MarineBiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/04/ea04182601.html

These findings enhance our understanding of Permian diets, paleoecological interactions, and even the microenvironments within feces!

Full text as preprint: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18978067

or final published peer-reviewed paper:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2025.201060

#Science #Paleoecology #Microfossils #PermianLife

Questions or thoughts? Drop them below! 👇

📖 Further reading: The study underlines the need to re-examine the #paleoecology of these fascinating #arthropods and that additional discoveries like Polonolimulus may led to further revisions in our understanding of the #habitat and early #diversification of this group. Full paper can be found here in #OpenAccess for everyone to read: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20950 #fossils #paleobiology #paleontology #evolution

Using "fossil" DNA to study the past
#Biology #Paleontology #History #PaleoEcology

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00879-0

#Paleoecology of #Doggerland
A study of DNA preserved in the sediments of a river system in the now-inundated Doggerland landmass in #NorthSea finds evidence suggesting the presence of temperate tree species in Doggerland around 16,000 years ago, earlier than they appeared in surrounding European forests. The findings suggest that Doggerland may have been a favorable environment for the development of #Mesolithic societies, according to the authors. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2508402123 #science

The arrival and sustained presence of early human ancestors (Homo erectus) in the prehistoric Southeast Asian landmass of Sundaland approximately 1.8 million years ago likely triggered an evolutionary shift in Leucosphyrus mosquitoes, causing them to adapt to feeding on human blood.
#EvolutionaryBiology #Paleoecology #Entomology #Epidemiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/03/ebio03052601.html

#Plant #biodiversity significantly declined in Europe following the massive human population loss and subsequent agricultural abandonment caused by the Black Death.
#Paleoecology #Ecology #Environmental #Conservation #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/03/eco03052601.html

Interesting article, in a way that the results seem to me simultaneously kind of obvious, and perspective changing.

Revisiting Europe's temperate forests: Palaeoecological evidence for an herbivory-driven woodland-grassland mosaic biome
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111749

#paleoecology #forests #Europe

The #prehistoric extinction of large #herbivorous #megafauna in Panama resulted in cascading ecological disruptions, specifically an increase in regional wildfires and a significant decline in plant species reliant on massive animals for seed dispersal.
#Paleoecology #ConservationBiology #Geosciences #EarthScience #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/03/es03032601.html

RE: https://helmholtz.social/@awi/116018286937061853

Our recent publication featured in @awi news! 🔥
Full paper currently available as in press here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-03169-1
Will share more on it once the final version is online!

@paleofire @wildfirescience @ecology #siberia #wildfire #paleoecology

Might as well do an #introduction post as it has been a while...

Hello there Fediverse! I am an environmental archaeologist interested in how past communities interacted with and shaped their environments (and vice versa). Just finished my #PhD (Physical #Geography at #Plymouth) focusing on the #HumberheadLevels. For my thesis, I combined #pollen analysis, #GIS, and #geoarchaeology to understand relationships between people and #wetland #landscapes. I recently passed my viva, so I am currently looking for work.

My published work thus far includes contributions on land cover reconstruction in complex wetland systems and chapters on #anarchist approaches to #archaeology and #heritage practice. I have a few more pieces in the works, and little time to do them all.

As far as research goes, I have been mostly interested in challenging the 'pristine #nature vs human impact' binary, the politics of how we interpret past landscapes, and unpicking what we actually mean when we talk about 'natural' environments and the messy reality of human-environment coevolution.

Reviving this account to catch up with your lovely faces and to see what's happening in #archaeology #paleoecology #gis #wetlands #politicalecology and related fields. 💗

#introductions #postdoc

How did the #intensity of #wildfires change throughout the past in one of the coldest regions in the world? 🔥❄️📉

To answer this question, we used #BPCAs from sediment samples from #Yakutia, #Siberia. Find our results, now published open access, here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818126000299

@wildfirescience @paleofire @ecology @academicchatter #paleofire #siberia #paleoecology #newresearch

Scientists sequence a woolly rhino genome from a 14,400-year-old wolf’s stomach

Fortunately for paleogeneticists, wolf puppies don’t chew their food thoroughly.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/scientists-sequence-a-woolly-rhino-genome-from-a-14400-year-old-wolfs-stomach/#megafauna #megafaunal-extinction #paleoecology #paleogenomics #science #siberia #woolly-rhino

Ancient antelope teeth from South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind reveal that grasslands didn’t replace woodlands overnight 1.7 million years ago. Early humans evolved in a stable, mosaic world rich in ecological variety. #Paleoecology #HumanOrigins #Anthropology https://www.anthropology.net/p/grasslands-and-the-teeth-that-tell

New modeling reveals that both Neanderthals and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers transformed Europe’s ecosystems through hunting and fire, centuries before farming began. #Anthropology #Paleoecology #Neanderthals #HumanEvolution https://www.anthropology.net/p/the-first-landscapers-how-neanderthals

Preprint of my paper with Amanda Arranz-Otaegui, using ecological niche modelling to reconstruct the likely ranges of crop progenitors and wild plant resources in West Asia at the onset of agriculture:

https://doi.org/10.32942/X2DD27

#Archaeology #Prehistory #Ecology #Paleoecology #MachineLearning #Agroecology #MiddleEast

Post-work round of the #Paleo board game with fellow researchers of our @utrechtuniversity #paleoecology group - we survived the wolf pack attacks and made it to the next level 🐺🔥

@academicchatter @paleofire

Centuries-old nests of the Bearded Vulture in Spain hold bones, sandals, and crossbow bolts—an accidental record of human history. Nature’s own archaeology in flight. #Paleoecology #Anthropocene #Ornithology #Archaeology https://www.anthropology.net/p/time-capsules-in-feathers-and-bone

SVP abstract accepted! 🎉

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Birmingham. 🇬🇧

If you’re curious about what pterosaur claws can tell us about their palaeoecology, be sure to stop by our poster!

#science #paleontology #fossils #pterosaurs #claws #paleoecology #conference #svp #svp2025

Paleolimnology (Paleogeography 🦕)

Paleolimnology is a scientific sub-discipline closely related to both limnology and paleoecology. Paleolimnological studies focus on reconstructing the past environments of inland waters using the geologic record, especially with regard to events such as climatic change, eutrophication, acidification, and internal ontogenic processes...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolimnology

#Paleolimnology #Lakes #Limnology #Paleoecology #AquaticEcology #Paleogeography

Paleolimnology (Paleogeography 🦕)

Paleolimnology is a scientific sub-discipline closely related to both limnology and paleoecology. Paleolimnological studies focus on reconstructing the past environments of inland waters using the geologic record, especially with regard to events such as climatic change, eutrophication, acidification, and internal ontogenic processes...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolimnology

#Paleolimnology #Lakes #Limnology #Paleoecology #AquaticEcology #Paleogeography

Land-Sea Linkages In The Arctic – What Is Paleoclimatology?
--
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/ecosystems-land-change-science-program/science/land-sea-linkages-arctic <-- shared technical article
--
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000333 <-- shared example of paper
--
https://doi.org/10.47894/mpal.69.3.04 <-- shared example of paper
--
[who doesn’t like a good foraminifera! (memories of staring down a microscope for hours at grad school) 😊 ]
#fedscience #Paleoclimatology #Paleoecology #Paleooceanography #Icesheet #climatechange #Paleoanthropology #Seaice #Marineecosystems #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #model #modeling #spatiotemporal #foraminifera #arctic #change #cryosphere #ArcticOcean #glacial #interglacial #Holocene #future

It's been fantastic to attend the #PAGES Open Science Meeting 2025 last week in #Shanghai, together with @Iza_bai!

This key conference in the field of (not just) #paleoecology is only organized every four years, and when I joined and presented there for the first time in 2021, it had to be online due to the pandemic. Now, I could finally meet many great researchers who I've been following from around the world in person!

It's also been great to present my research on long-term #wildfire dynamics to an expert audience and discuss diverse ideas. I took with me many creative ideas and an extended and deepened network! Thanks to the conveners of Session 15 for the chance to present my work, and to the local organizing committee from Tongji University and everyone else who made this conference happen!

The study I presented is currently in review, but a #preprint is available here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.14.643308

@academicchatter @paleofire @academicsunite #science

A new study by Smyth and colleagues identifies pterosaur trackmakers and shows that several lineages of Jurassic and Cretaceous pterosaurs independently evolved to thrive in terrestrial ecosystems, foraging on foot rather than on the wing!

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2900446-4

#science #paleontology #pterosaurs #pterodactyl #mesozoic #reptiles #paleoecology #ecology #locomotion #functionalmorphology

having finished the #film now, I'm not a fan of what Herzog did with this amazing opportunity fo film in the #ChauvetCave, but it was very educational and basically counts as work for me as I sometimes write about #paleoEcology and may have used images from the cave for illustration of my features. #science #ecology #anthropology #CaveOfForgottenDreams