Paleoecological studies: An overview highlighting South Indian Palynology

Palaeoecology, the ecology of the past, is defined recently by Rull (2010) as "the branch of ecology that studies past ecological systems and their trends in time using fossils and other proxies". Thus, although the focus is on reconstructing or delineating the past dynamics – of say, vegetation or climate changes, when this reconstruction is quantitative, paleoecology has the potential to play a significant role in important aspects of current biodiversity conservation research such as ecological processes and properties (Birks et al., 2010). Starting with a very brief background about the different varieties of fossils and proxies frequently used in Paleoecology, especially during the late Quaternary, this talk will highlight quantitative Palynology and more specifically its study at the French Institute over the past > 50 years to understand the evolution of vegetation in south India.

Rull, V (2010) Ecology and palaeoecology: two approaches, one objective. The Open Ecology Journal, 3, 1-5.

HJB Birks, O Heiri, H Seppä, AE Bjune (2010) Strengths and weaknesses of quantitative climate reconstructions based on Late-Quaternary biological proxies The Open Ecology Journal, 3, 68-110.

Speaker

Anupama Krishnamurthy, researcher, French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)

Organisers

Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry.

Venue

Main Indology Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001.