February 14, 2013
Please note that the PCRG web pages which are hosted by The Open University have been redirected to the generic department home page. Consequently many links from this blog will no longer work – Argh!
We are working hard to get the research group specific pages restored/replaced.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
February 12, 2013
K.H. Roucoux, I.T. Lawson, T.D. Jones, T.R. Baker, E.N. Honorio Coronado, W.D. Gosling, O. Lahteenoja (2013) Vegetation development in an Amazonian peatland Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 374: 242-255. DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.01.023
January 31, 2013
We are taking the BES festival of ecology to music festivals in 2013! “Tell me when”… you’d better read the blog!
January seems to have flown past and has been another active month. With group members variously involved in:
January 16, 2013
Join us… PCRG members on fieldwork in Ecuador
The AXA Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme is opening shortly!
All applications must be pre-approved by the host institution so if you are interested in applying for a project through The Open University expressions of interest are required by 25th January 2013.
January 10, 2013
The last two months of 2012 were exceptionally busy!
On the research front
On the teaching and administration front
Two tasks dominated the non-research activity: 1) teaching the Geological Record of Environmental Change (S369) exams assessment and assigment, and 2) as Post Graduate Tutor keeping up with NERC developments for the new Doctoral Training Partnerships.
PCRG members on field work in Cayabe-Coca National Park (2012). Left to right: Hayley, Encarni, William and Frazer.
Encarni and Frazer have returned to Ecuador Jan-Feb 2013 to collect further sedimentary cores. More on the blog soon…
Finally all that remains is to say “Happy New Year” from the PCRG and on with 2013… 🙂
January 9, 2013
Prof. H. Hoogiemstra Chair of Palaeoecology & Landscape ecology at IBED
Dutch and Belgian Palynology meeting
University of Amsterdam
13/12/2012
Many thanks to Henry Hooghiemstra for the invitation to present at the recent palynology meeting in Amsterdam hosted by the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Dynamics (IBED). The program of talks was broad and interesting ranging from the deep time geological history of the Amazon basin (Carina Hoorn) to the use of video game technology in visulizing landscapes (Bodo Schuetze); watch videos of his work, or read the thesis.
View Schuetze’s work on recreating Mauritius in 3D on Vimeo
I contributed some new work on human-landscape interaction in the central Andes, entitled: “Ecosystem service provision sets the pace for pre-Columbian Andean societal development”. It was very exciting to get feedback from such an esteemed audience on this new work. The days talks concluded with the IBED seminar given by Mark Bush (Florida Institute of Technology) which countinued the South American human-environment theme but we moved to the lowlands for “Amazonia in 1491: A paleoecological perspective”. Mark’s talk built on his recent work exmining the extent of human impact on Amazonia (references 1-3 below) which has cautioned against assuming widespread and intensive human impact within Amazonia prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Following the seminars we had drinks at the institute and an excellent meal in Amsterdam. Thanks again to Henry and all those at IBED who hosted a high class and scientifically stimulating meeting.
January 9, 2013
Two NERC algorithm funded PhD studentships are currently available with the PCRG. The projects are focused on understanding past environmental change in west tropical Africa and Amazonian-Andean Ecuador. Both projects will involve field work and build on on-going research within the lab.
Closing date 31/01/2013
One project will work on samples collected during fieldwork in 2012 near Papallacta (Ecuador).
Further project details and how to apply below…
Continue Reading
November 18, 2012
Frazer proves that the Mo does not stop work in the palaeo lab..
Enjoying the Palaeo-Mo’s? If so for more picture and and the opportunity to donate visit the OU Roc Soc team Movember pages.
For more Open University Mos’
November 12, 2012
It is Movember (raising awaerness of mens health issues) and Frazer and Will have joined the OU Roc Soc team in growing their Mo’s:
Please support the Palae-Mo by donating at: http://uk.movember.com/team/725605
Check back soon for more Mo updates…
November 2, 2012
Linnean Society Palynology Specialist Group meeting
Linnean Society of London
Burlington House
1st November 2012
PCRG members at the Linnean Society 1st November
Left-Right: Hayley Keen, William Gosling, Alice Kennedy and Encarni Montoya
Yesterday four members of the Palaeoenvironmental Change Research Group (PCRG) visited the Linnean Society of London to attended the annual palynology meeting. The talks were excellent and covered a wide range of issues in palaynology from the configuration of Late Triassic Cassopollis grains (Wolfram Kurschner, University of Oslo), through how pollen and spores are built (Stephen Blackmore, Royal Botanic Garderns, Edinburgh) to understanding global patterns of mass-extinctions with particular focus on the Cretaceous-Paleogene (Vivi Vajda, University of Lund). For further information on the days program click here to visit the meeting web site.
The PCRG contribution to the meeting was made by Hayley Keen who presented the first paper related to her doctoral research to an exteral audience entitled “Pollen counting for diverse tropical ecosystems”. The paper presented:
It is hoped the application of the model to fossil pollen counting will allow more efficient and effective use of palynologists time. The paper was very well recieved despite the audible intake of breath when Hayley recommened that to characterize pollen richness (diversity) in some settings pollen counts in excess of 2000 grains might be required!
Ecology of the past 