Paleoecology

Paleoecology (also spelt palaeoecology) uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It involves the study of fossil organisms and their associated remains (e.g. shells, teeth, pollen, and seeds), which can be used to interpret their life cycle, living interactions, natural environment, communities, and manner of death and burial. Such interpretations aid the reconstruction of past environments (i.e. paleoenvironment).

The fossil record has been studied to try to clarify the relationship animals have to their environment, in part to help understand the current state of biodiversity. A close link has been found between vertebrate taxonomic and ecological diversity, that is, the diversity of animals and the niches they occupy.

Reconstruction and measurement

The aim of paleoecology is therefore to build the most detailed model possible of the life environment of previously living organisms found today as fossils. Such reconstruction takes into consideration complex interactions among environmental factors such as temperatures, food supplies, and degree of solar illumination. Often much of this information is lost or distorted by the fossilization process or diagenesis of the enclosing sediments, making interpretation difficult.