Macrofossil remains and geochemical proxies as high-resolution archives of past environmental change

Co-organized by CL1.1, co-sponsored by INCP

Convener: Daniele Scarponi | Co-conveners: Rafał Nawrot, Niels de WinterECSECS, Gaia Crippa, Lukas SchweiglECSECS

Skeletal remains, like shells, ossicles, corals, bones, or fish otoliths, are valuable archives of physical, chemical, or paleogenetic information, helping us understand ecological and environmental changes over periods ranging from decades to millennia, whether on land or in the ocean. This session invites researchers who employ these archives to reconstruct changes in species and ecosystems in relation to climate variability and/or human impacts across both the deep time and the recent past. We encourage contributions that focus on biotic interactions, species and community dynamics, sclerochronology, isotope geochemistry, trait-based analyses, morphometric approaches, and ancient DNA/sedimentary DNA, in particular conservation-oriented case studies that combine data from modern biota and fossil remains. Complementary paleoecological archives—such as biogeochemical and isotopic signatures from sedimentary succession or archaeological middens—are also welcome, primarily when they document histories of environmental disturbance and its ecological consequences. We also welcome paleobiogeographic reconstructions that explore range shifts, corridor/barrier dynamics, and distributional disequilibria to inform how species’ spatial patterns have responded to past environmental change. In conclusion, by examining long-term records, we can gain insights into the potential consequences of present-day environmental stressors and climate change, reconstruct past dynamics of species and ecosystem changes, including extinction, recovery, and biogeographic shifts, and thus obtain valuable insights that can help us sketch the near-future trajectories of contemporary ecosystems.