Herbivory and vegetation openness in a pre-farming European landscape

November 19, 2025
WDG

Plant Ecology & Diversity

Gosling, W. D., de Wolf, I. K., Witteveen, N. H., de Zwaan, S. B., Van Teulingen, C., Föllmi, D., Thissen, W., Vink, V. B., Woutersen, A., Philip, A. L., van Herk, M. J., Nascimento, M. N., Prins, M. A., & McMichael, C. N. H. (2025). Herbivory and vegetation openness in a pre-farming European landscape. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2025.2576566

This manuscript has been developed over many years through the contributions of many MSc and BSc students based at the University of Amsterdam.

Vegetation and climate dynamics in a 16,600-year marine sequence offshore Mozambique in Delagoa Bight, south-eastern Africa

September 8, 2025
WDG

Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #8

Open access:

Neumann, F. H., Finch, J., Hahn, A., Miller, C. S., Scott, L., Schefuß, E., Dupont, L., Cawthra, H. C., & Engelbrecht, F. (2025). Vegetation and climate dynamics in a 16,600-year marine sequence offshore Mozambique in Delagoa Bight, south-eastern Africa. Quaternary International, 747, 109956. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109956

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period

July 25, 2025
WDG

Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #7

Open access:

Gosling, W.D., Chevalier, M., Fischer, M.L., Holewijn, M., Finch, J., Gil-Romera, G., Hill, T., Houngnon, A., Leonardi, M., Manica, A., & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2025). A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period. Quaternary International 744, 109933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109933

Gosling, W.D., Chevalier, M., Lothar Fischer, M., Holewijn, M., Finch, J. M., Gil-Romera, G., Hill, T. R., Houngnon, A., Leonardi, M., Manica, A., & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2025). Code from: A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period. Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.29608400.V1

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

Drivers of vegetation change in tropical Africa

April 9, 2025
WDG

I was delighted to be invited to give a seminar as part of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology “Human Palaeo-systems Research Group” series. In case you missed it the seminar is will soon be available to watch online (click here).

To see the full list of seminars in the series click here.

Eccentricity-driven glacial climate variability and its influence on speciation in the tropical Andes

March 12, 2025
WDG

Open access:

Chevalier, M., Gosling, W.D., Hooghiemstra, H., Cartapanis, O., Chase, B.M. & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2025) Eccentricity-driven glacial climate variability and its influence on speciation in the tropical Andes. Quaternary Science Advances 100278. DOI: 10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100278

Palynologische Kring: Seminar day

January 14, 2025
WDG

The next seminar series of the Palynologische Kring (Dutch palynological society) will take place on 24 January 2025, at the Auditorium of TNO Utrecht. If you would like to attend please register by emailing the society (link).

PROGRAMME

13.00-13.15    Arrival

13.15-13.45    Irene Waajen (TNO): Re-evaluation of Early Weichselian pollen zones with new insights from the North Sea.

13.45-14.15    Nathalie Van der Putten (VU) & Jeroen Schokker (TNO): Zagwijn revisited: the Eemian to Early-Weichselian sequence in the Amersfoort Basin.

14.15-14.45    Freek Busschers (TNO): Response of the Eerbeek alluvial fan to 150.000 years of (sub)orbital climate fluctuations.

14.45-15.00    Break

15.00-15.30    Timme Donders (UU): An update of the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene vegetation and climate stratigraphy of NW Europe.

15.30-16.00    Sander Houben (TNO): A new stratigraphic framework for the Lower Pleistocene of the Netherlands.

16.00        Social drinks

Job: Postdoctoral position – Past environmental change on Madagascar

December 20, 2024
WDG

A postdoctoral position in palynology and sedimentary DNA analysis, focused on understanding the environmental history of the Malagasy landscapes and populations over the last millennia, is now available working with Laurent Bremond (University of Montpellier, France). Funding is from the French National Research Agency (ANR) with support from CNRS.

For further information see:

Highland forest dynamics across equatorial East Africa during the end ofthe African humid period

November 6, 2024
WDG

MAPPING ANCIENT AFRICA QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE #2

Ivory, S.J., MacDougal, E., Mason, A., Pereboom, E., Garelick, S., Ficken, K., Wooller, M.J., Nakileza, B. & Russell, J. (2024) Highland forest dynamics across equatorial East Africa during the end of the African humid period. Quaternary International. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.007

A 23-million-year record of morphological evolution within Neotropical grass pollen

October 31, 2024
WDG

Wei, C., Li, M., Mao, L., Mander, L., Jardine, P.E., Gosling, W.D. & Hoorn, C. (2024) A 23-million-year record of morphological evolution within Neotropical grass pollen. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.20214

This paper is the latest to come from the PhD thesis of Caixia Wei who defended at the University of Amsterdam earlier in 2024. To find out more about Caixia’s work click here.

Past environments of the Veluwe

October 20, 2024
WDG

On the 17 and 18 October 2024 the Palynologische Kring (Dutch Palynological Society) held a seminar afternoon and excursion near Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.

During the seminar afternoon (17 October) we heard four talks. The first from Harm Smeenge and Ariët Kieskamp (both Bosgroep) introduced the sites we were to visit on the excursion the next day. This focused on the landscape ecology and ecological history of the bogs on the eastern slopes of the Veluwe. The second talk, by Roy van Beek (Wageningen University & Research), focused on the Celtic field systems around the Veluwe. He explained the latest archaeological and archaeobotaincal work investigating the age and origins of these field systems. The third presentation was by Jasper Candel (Wageningen University & Research) and focused on the geomorphological features from glacial activity in the Veluwe region and how this has effected the development of mire ecosystems. I (William Gosling) gave the final talk, presenting the outputs of the research theses of Sanna Wessel, Chiara Raino and Roos Dik who all completed projects at the University of Amsterdam and worked together to investigate how different mega-herbivore populations in the Dutch landscape were represented by the dung fungal spores preserved in the soil.

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