What is conservation paleobiology? Tracking 20 years of research and development

Dillon EM, Pier JQ, Smith JA, Raja Schoob NB, Dimitrijevic D, Austin EL, Cybulski JD, De Entrambasaguas J, Durham SR, Grether C, Haldar HS, Kocáková K, Lin CH, Mazzini I, Mychajliw AM, Ollendorf AL, Pimiento C, Regalado Fernánde OR, Smith I, Dietl GP (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Original Authors: Erin M. Dillon, Jaleigh Q. Pier, Jansen A. Smith, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Danijela Dimitrijević, Elizabeth L. Austin, Jonathan D. Cybulski, Julia De Entrambasaguas, Stephen R. Durham, Carolin M. Grether, Himadri Sekhar Haldar, Kristína Kocáková, Chien-Hsiang Lin, Ilaria Mazzini, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Amy L. Ollendorf, Catalina Pimiento, Omar R. Regalado Fernández, Isaiah E. Smith, Gregory P. Dietl

Book Volume: 10

DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1031483

Abstract

Conservation paleobiology has coalesced over the last two decades since its formal coining, united by the goal of applying geohistorical records to inform the conservation, management, and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, the field is still attempting to form an identity distinct from its academic roots. Here, we ask a deceptively simple question: What is conservation paleobiology? To track its development as a field, we synthesize complementary perspectives from a survey of the scientific community that is familiar with conservation paleobiology and a systematic literature review of publications that use the term. We present an overview of conservation paleobiology’s research scope and compare survey participants’ perceptions of what it is and what it should be as a field. We find that conservation paleobiologists use a variety of geohistorical data in their work, although research is typified by near-time records of marine molluscs and terrestrial mammals collected over local to regional spatial scales. Our results also confirm the field’s broad disciplinary basis: survey participants indicated that conservation paleobiology can incorporate information from a wide range of disciplines spanning conservation biology, ecology, historical ecology, paleontology, and archaeology. Finally, we show that conservation paleobiologists have yet to reach a consensus on how applied the field should be in practice. The survey revealed that many participants thought the field should be more applied but that most do not currently engage with conservation practice. Reflecting on how conservation paleobiology has developed over the last two decades, we discuss opportunities to promote community cohesion, strengthen collaborations within conservation science, and align training priorities with the field’s identity as it continues to crystallize.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Middlebury College United States (USA) (US) Institute of environmental geology and geoengineering (IGAG) Italy (IT) Paleontological Research Institution United States (USA) (US) Universidad de Zaragoza Spain (ES) Applied EarthWorks, Inc. United States (USA) (US) University of Zurich / Universität Zürich (UZH) Switzerland (CH) University of California United States (USA) (US) Swansea University United Kingdom (GB) Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection Florida United States (USA) (US) Academia Sinica / 中央研究院 Taiwan (TW) Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama (PA)

How to cite

APA:

Dillon, E.M., Pier, J.Q., Smith, J.A., Raja Schoob, N.B., Dimitrijevic, D., Austin, E.L.,... Dietl, G.P. (2022). What is conservation paleobiology? Tracking 20 years of research and development. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1031483

MLA:

Dillon, Erin M, et al. "What is conservation paleobiology? Tracking 20 years of research and development." Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10 (2022).

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