Ecology of the past

INQUA Fellowship Award: Alfred Houngnon

December 20, 2023
WDG

I am delighted to be able to report that Alfred Houngnon (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin) has been awarded an INQUA Fellowship for 2024 to develop his research into past environmental change in the Dahomey Gap. This research will link up my laboratory, at the Institute of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (University of Amsterdam), and the group of Dr Mireille S.S. Toyi (Laboratory of Applied Ecology, University of Abomey-Calavi). Below, and in the associated video report, Alfred explains the project and what he hopes to achieve during the project.

The Dahomey Gap project is designed to gain new insights on the West African palaeoenvironments using pollen, charcoal and dung fungal spore records to reconstruct past vegetation, fire and animal abundances. These empirical data will then be compared against paleoclimate models. Specifically, we will explore the interactions between fire, animals and vegetation around the Ewe-Adakplame forest in the south east of Benin Republic and highlight the role humans would have previously played in the modification of the landscape for millennia.

Mapping Ancient Africa: Structuring a scientific article

December 19, 2023
WDG

The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) project is currently (late 2023 until early 2024) in the process of collecting submissions for a special issue of the INQUA (our sponsors) journal Quaternary International. The special issue will showcase research developed at the MAA workshop in Rome, and presented at the MAA sessions at the INQUA Rome congress. However, the editorial team is open to considering manuscripts relevant to the MAA goals that come from people not already involved in the project – so please contact us if you have ideas.

The process of developing articles for the special issue will be supported by the MAA community through a series of events. The first of these was a online workshop (2 October 2023) set out the frame of reference for the special issue, and included a short presentation on tips for structing a scientific article for this journal. If you missed the event and are thinking about writing an article for the special issue, or in a similar style, you can catch up with this on the Ecology of the Past YouTube channel. In person writing workshops are planned for 2024 in Africa. As full details emerge information will be published here.

PhD Thesis: Morphometrics of modern and fossil Poaceae pollen from South America

December 19, 2023
WDG

On November 17, 2023, Caixia Wei (魏彩霞) accomplished a pivotal milestone by successfully defending her thesis titled “Morphometrics of Modern and Fossil Poaceae Pollen from South America” at the distinguished Agnietenkapel (University of Amsterdam). During the defense ceremony, Caixia showcased her professional knowledge and expertise in the field of paleoecology in a relaxed and cheerful manner. The committee members, promoters (Carina Hoorn, William Gosling, Phillip Jardine), and attendees (~50 people) responded with frequent smiles, laughter, and numerous rounds of applause! After the defense, a delightful reception and dinner were held, where Caixia was showered with an abundance of hugs, kisses, heartfelt wishes, and thoughtful gifts. These wonderful memories will support Caixia on her journey ahead…

For a glimpse into the event, you can watch Caixia’s insightful 10-minute project presentation here:

Additionally, most of Caixia’s thesis is available for download at this link:

Wei, C. (2023) Morphometrics of modern and fossil Poaceae pollen from South America. PhD Thesis, University of Amsterdam.

New funding opportunity for African researchers

November 8, 2023
WDG

A new funding stream is about to open up (1 December 2023) to support African scientists to carry out PhD research at Dutch universities. The GROW research programme (Graduate Research on Worldwide Challenges) will fund 51 PhD positions to be based at one of five Dutch universities, including with the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, at the University of Amsterdam.

To find out more click here.

Applications open 1 December 2023 and close 31 January 2024.

Determinants of above-ground carbon stocks and productivity in secondary forests along a 3000-m elevation gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes

November 6, 2023
WDG

Pinto, E., Cuesta, F., Bernardi, A., Llerena-Zambrano, M., Pérez, ÁJ., van der Sande, M.T., Gosling, W.D. & Burgess, K.S. (2023) Determinants of above-ground carbon stocks and productivity in secondary forests along a 3000-m elevation gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes. Plant Ecology & Diversity DOI: 10.1080/17550874.2023.2274844

Spatial and temporal abilities of proxies used to detect pre-Columbian Indigenous human activity in Amazonian ecosystems

November 2, 2023
WDG

Open access:

McMichael, C.N.H., Levis, C., Gosling, W.D., Junqueira, A.B., Piperno, D.R., Neves, E.G., Mayle, F., Peña-Claros, M. & Bongers, F. (2023) Spatial and temporal abilities of proxies used to detect pre-Columbian Indigenous human activity in Amazonian ecosystems. Quaternary Science Reviews 321, 108354. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108354

Grass pollen surface ornamentation is diverse across the phylogeny

September 28, 2023
WDG

Open access:

Wei, C., Jardine, P.E., Mao, L., Mander, L., Li, M., Gosling, W.D. & Hoorn, C. (2023) Grass pollen surface ornamentation is diverse across the phylogeny: Evidence from northern South America and the global literature. Journal of Systematics and Evolution. DOI: 10.1111/jse.13021

Charcoal abundance measurements are affected by freeze-drying

September 11, 2023
WDG

Open access:

Nascimento, M.N., Beltran, J., Bressers, C., van Delft, J., Vermeulen, J., de Ron, S., Bruijn, A., Raczka, M.F., Maezumi, S.Y., Gosling, W.D., Bush, M.B. & McMichael, C.N.H. (2023) Charcoal abundance measurements are affected by freeze-drying. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 629, 111790. DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111790

Unlocking the wealth of Dutch pollen data for future research and education

September 8, 2023
WDG

Open access:

de Wolf, I.K., Donders, T.H., Hoek, W.Z., Gouw-Bouman, M. & Giesecke, T. (2023) Unlocking the wealth of Dutch pollen data for future research and education. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. DOI: 10.1007/s00334-023-00951-z

Palaeoecology course 2023

September 6, 2023
WDG

The pollen and phytolith identification quiz! Is that an Asteraceae phytolith I see…???

The University of Amsterdam “Palaeoecology” course commenced this week with lectures getting students up to speed with the fundamental principles and approaches to the subject, and laboratory practicals training students in the identification of micro- and macro-fossils. Once students have gained a basic understanding of pollen and phytolith identification – and demonstrated this by passing the ‘dreaded’ identification quiz – it is time to commence the group project work.

This year the students are trying to identify from which study site their ‘mystery slides’ come from on the basis of the micro-fossil assemblages (pollen and phytoliths) that they contain. The study sites all come from the area around Hilversum (Netherlands) and (could) include: heathland, pine forest, mix-deciduous forest, and birch woodlands. In addition, just to make it more interesting, one group has samples taken from the medieval palaeosol that is found locally.

Next week is field work week and the students will then need to parameterise the vegetation around the Hilversum area in such a way that they: (i) get a representative sample the variation across the landscape, and (ii) can compare the vegetation data with their micro-fossil data. Then, following the number crunching in the third week of the course, we will find out if the different groups can identify the correct study site from which there samples came…

The Palaeoecology course at the University of Amsterdam is part of the BSc Biology program, it is also frequently taken by students on the BSc Future Planet Studies degree. We also welcome students from other programs, such as BSc Béta-Gamma, and international exchange students.