Learning from the past: opportunities for advancing ecological research and practice using palaeoecological data

Abstract

Palaeoecology involves analysis of fossil and sub-fossil evidence preserved within sediments to understand past species distributions, habitats and ecosystems. However, while palaeoecological research is sometimes made relevant to contemporary ecology, especially to advance understanding of biogeographical theory or inform habitat-based conservation at specific sites, most ecologists do not routinely incorporate palaeoecological evidence into their work. Thus most crossdiscipline links are palaeoecology→ecology rather than ecology→palaeoecology. This is likely due to lack of awareness and/or the misnomer that palaeoecology invariably relates to the "distant past" (thousands of years) rather than being applicable to the "recent past" (last ~100-200 years). Here, we highlight opportunities for greater integration of palaeoecology within contemporary ecological research, policy, and practice. We identify situations where palaeoecology has been, or could be, used to: (1) quantify recent temporal change (e.g. population dynamics; predator-prey cycles); (2) "rewind" to a particular point in ecological time (e.g. setting restoration/rewilding targets; classifying cryptogenic species);(3) understand current ecological processes that are hard to study real-time (e.g. identifying keystone species; detecting tipping points); (4) complement primary data and historical records to bridge knowledge gaps (e.g. informing reintroductions and bioindicator frameworks); (5) disentangle natural and anthropogenic processes (e.g. climate change); and (6) draw palaeoecological analogues (e.g. impacts of pests). We conclude that the possibilities for better uniting ecology and palaeoecology to form an emerging cross-boundary paradigm are as extensive as they are exciting: we urge ecologists to learn from the past and seek opportunities to extend, improve, and strengthen their work using palaeoecological data.

Modelling of fossil and contemporary data suggest the Broad‐toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) currently occupies a small part of its available climatic niche: Implications of paleontological data for conservation of a threatened species

“…Our study illustrates the importance of considering sub-fossil records when researching species' niches and distributions (Goodenough & Webb, 2022;Meyers et al, 2015). Studies which included fossil records have achieved valuable insights into the ecology and biogeography of their extant study species.…”

Borrowing from the palaeolimnologists toolkit; the use of lake sediment cores in diagnosing the causes of freshwater species decline

“…Despite alarming statistics indicating the rapid degradation of freshwater habitats and an increasing number of species losses (WWF, 2020), resources and funding opportunities for wetland conservation continue to be limited (Gordon et al, 2020). An evidence-based approach, that ensures effective resource allocation and ongoing best practice, is therefore vital.…”

First reported fossil occurrences of Phrynosoma sp. from the Columbia Plateau (Washington State, USA) dated to the Late Pleistocene

“…The melding of ecological conservation and palaeoecology provides the opportunity to study species abundance, composition and richness in assemblages over temporal scales ranging from 100 years to over 100 000 years in regions exhibiting the absence of modern anthropic influence. Such data provide the opportunity to study dynamic fluctuations in species composition at specific locations and biological responses to climatic shifts over varying spatial, temporal and taxonomic scales (Gillson and Ekblom, 2020; Blanco et al, 2021; Djamali and Segarra‐Moragues, 2021; Gillson, 2021; Goodenough and Webb, 2022). Although the practical use of palaeoecological data in modern conservation biology is sound (Foster et al, 1990; Bennington et al, 2009; Willis et al, 2010; Gillson, 2015; Jackson and McClenachan, 2017), the link between the two is currently weak.…”