Time machine biology: fossils and biogeography

Abstract

Direct observations of marine ecosystems are inherently limited in their temporal span. Yet ongoing global anthropogenic change urges improved understanding of long-term baselines, greater insights into the relationship between climate and biodiversity, and knowledge of the evolutionary consequences of our actions. Marine fossils can provide this understanding by linking data on the response of marine biota to reconstructions of past environmental change. Given the continuous preservation of marine fossils, they have potential to constrain the state and dynamics of past climates and ecosystems on the timescale of centuries to millions of years. In this presentation I will overview the development and recent advances in this “time machine biology” as a synthetic science of ecology, paleoecology, and biogeography with potential to illuminate the interplay and relative importance of ecological and evolutionary factors during global change.