Marine conservation palaeobiology: What does the late Quaternary fossil record tell us about modern-day extinctions and biodiversity threats?

ABSTRACT: Near-time conservation palaeobiology uses palaeontological, archaeological and other geohistorical records to study the late Quaternary transition of the biosphere from its pristine past to its present-day, human-altered state. Given the scarcity of data on recent extinctions in the oceans, geohistorical records are critical for documenting human-driven extinctions and extinction threats in the marine realm. The historical perspective can provide two key insights. First, geohistorical records archive the state of pre-industrial oceans at local, regional and global scales, thus enabling the detection of recent extinctions and extirpations as well as shifts in species distribution, abundance, body size and ecosystem function. Second, we can untangle the contributions of natural and anthropog

SUBMITTER: Kowalewski M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11895752 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature