Fossil pollen and spores in paleoecology

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The discipline of paleoecology is a multidisciplinary field that uses geological and biological evidence to investigate the past occurrence, distribution and abundance of species and populations on timescales ranging from hundreds to hundreds of millions of years. In this way, paleoecology is broadly concerned with the ecology of the past. In this article, we discuss how paleoecological data are derived from assemblages of fossil pollen and spores, which are dispersed by plants as part of their life cycles, and how this material can be used to reconstruct paleoenvironments. We outline how pollen and spores can be analyzed and classified, and explore the potential strengths and weaknesses of paleoecological data, before considering technological and methodological developments that may play a role in the future development of this discipline.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationVertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
PublisherSpringer
Pages215-234
Number of pages20
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Publication series

NameVertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
ISSN (Print)1877-9077

Keywords

  • Climate
  • Microscopy
  • Morphology
  • Plants
  • Taxonomy
  • Vegetation history

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Ecology
  • Palaeontology

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