Ecology of the past

Mapping Ancient Africa

July 16, 2021
WDG

I am pleased to announce the start of a new project “Mapping Ancient Africa” funded by the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) with support from the Palaeoclimate commission (PALCOM) and the Human & Biospheres commission (HABCOM). This project will bring together Quaternary scientists focused on past climates and environments with those working on human evolution and development in Africa. Through the synthesising data and linking these with modelling approaches we hope to bring together a novel group of researchers to explore the climatic and environmental backdrop to hominin development.

The project will be lead by Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, Rahab Kinyanjui, Lynne Quick, Sarah Ivory and myself.

Further information on the project can be found on a new “sub-site” within this blog dedicated to the “Mapping Ancient Africa” project. The project is designed to connect researchers working on these topics so if you are interested to be involved please do get in contact. The first meeting will be held in October 2021 online and at four locations: Nairobi (Kenya), Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Potsdam (Germany) and Portland (Oregon, USA) – for further details click her e.

Job: Stable Isotope Research Technician

July 15, 2021
WDG

Within the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (University of Amsterdam) we have a job opening for an experienced research technician with expertise in stable isotope analysis and affinity with biogeochemistry of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Interested? This is your chance!

For more information contact Eva de Rijke, or visit:

Closing date: 23 July 2021

PhD: African palaeoclimatology

July 8, 2021
WDG

Location: Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik
Team including: Thomas Wonik, Christian Zeeden, Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, William Gosling

We are looking for a researcher with a geosciences background to explore the physical properties of the sediments recovered from Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana). The Lake Bosumtwi sediments we recovered by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program in 2004 and have been found to span the last c. 1.07 million years (Koerbel et al., 2005). This project will examine the borehole data and relate this ongoing palaeoenvironmental studies at the site (Miller & Gosling, 2014; Miller et al., 2016).

For further details see:

stellenausschreibung_g_07_21_en Download

Deadline for applications: 31/07/2021

Paleo-ENSO influence on African environments and early modern humans

June 2, 2021
WDG

Kaboth-Bahr S, Gosling WD, Vogelsang R, Bahr A, Scerri EML, Asrat A, Cohen AS, Düsing W, Foerster V, Lamb HF, et al. 2021. Paleo-ENSO influence on African environments and early modern humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118(23):e2018277118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018277118

Forests protect aquatic communities from detrimental impact by volcanic deposits in the tropical Andes (Ecuador)

May 19, 2021
WDG

Open access: Montoya E, Matthews-Bird F, Brooks SJ, Gosling WD. 2021. Forests protect aquatic communities from detrimental impact by volcanic deposits in the tropical Andes (Ecuador). Regional Environmental Change 21(2): article 53. DOI: 10.1007/s10113-021-01783-1

Rebuild the Plant Conservation Unit

May 7, 2021
WDG

The Plant Conservation Unit (University of Cape Town, South Africa) recently suffered a significantly when the building in which it was housed was ignited by a wildfire. A fund raiser has been initiated by Dr. Lynne Quick on behalf of the Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA).

To find out more and donate to the fund please visit: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/rebuild-the-pcu.

News article: Fire causes loss of the Plant Conservation Unit offices and photographic collections.

A checklist of vascular plants of Ewe-Adakplame Relic Forest in Benin, West Africa

April 28, 2021
WDG

Open access:

Houngnon A, Adomou AC, Gosling WD, Adeonipekun PA. 2021. A checklist of vascular plants of Ewe-Adakplame Relic Forest in Benin, West Africa. PhytoKeys 175:151. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.175.61467

Big History podcast

March 26, 2021
WDG

As part of the (on-line) bachelor level “Big History” course from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Amsterdam I recently recorded a podcast with Henry Hooghiemstra. Under the banner of “How Has Climate Change Influenced History?” among other things we discussed: (i) the principles of how we can obtain information on past climatic and environmental change, (ii) how global climate changed between cold (glacial states) and warm (interglacial states) during the last 2.6 million years (Quaternary), and (iii) past human impacts and influences on environmental and climatic change.

Listen to the podcast click here.
For more Big History podcasts click here.
To learn more about the Big History course click here.

30,000 years of landscape and vegetation dynamics in a mid-elevation Andean valley

March 25, 2021
WDG

Open access:

McMichael, C., Witteveen, N.H., Scholz, S., Zwier, M., Prins, M.A., Lougheed, B.C., Mothes, P. & Gosling, W.D. (2021) 30,000 years of landscape and vegetation dynamics in a mid-elevation Andean valley. Quaternary Science Reviews 258, 106866.

Job: PhD Palaeoecology & Community Ecology

March 24, 2021
WDG

Mark Bush is looking to recruit a PhD researcher to the “Neotropical Palaeoecology Research Group” at Florida Institute of Technology.

Applications are invited from qualified and highly-motivated students for an exciting PhD studentship in the areas of paleoecology and community ecology of South American lowland rainforests.