- Paleoecology
Paleoecology uses data from
fossil s and subfossils to reconstruct theecosystem s of the past. It includes the study offossil organisms and theirbromalite s and othertrace fossils in terms of their life cycle, their living interactions, theirnatural environment , their manner ofdeath and burial. Paleoecology's aim is therefore to build the most detailed model possible of the life environment of those living organisms found today as fossils; such reconstruction work involves complex interactions among environmental factors (temperature ,food supplies, degree of solar illumination, etc.). Of course, much of this complex data has been distorted or destroyed by the post-mortem fossilization processes, adding another layer of complexity. The environmental complexity factor is normally tackled through statistical analysis of the available numerical data (quantitativepaleontology orpaleostatistics ), while the study of post-mortem processes is known as the field oftaphonomy .Much paleoecological research focuses on the last two million years (the
Quaternary period) because older environments are less well-represented in the fossiltimeline of evolution . Indeed, many studies concentrate on theHolocene epoch (the last 11,000 years), or the last glacial stage of thePleistocene epoch (the Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Würm glaciation of theice age , from 50,000 to 10,000 years ago). Such studies are useful for understanding the dynamics of ecosystem change and for reconstructing pre-industrialization ecosystems. Manypublic policy decision-makers have pointed to the importance of using paleoecological studies as a basis for choices made inconservation ecology .ee also
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Michael Frogley
*Historical ecology External links
*Fox, D. [http://www.conbio.org/cip/article73dig.cfm Dig Deeper] . "Conservation in Practice" 7(3):15-21.
*Taylor, P.D. and Wilson, M.A., 2003. Palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities. "Earth-Science Reviews" 62: 1-103. [http://www.wooster.edu/geology/Taylor%26Wilson2003.pdf]
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