Abstract
Conservation palaeobiology as a discipline has reached critical mass, and it is becoming increasingly seen as relevant to the recognition of environmental problems and to the management of ecological systems. As an emerging discipline, conservation palaeobiology is defining itself and its place alongside complementary disciplines. Part of this process is recognising the diverse range of theories and techniques which underpin the field, and part of this process is evangelising the discipline. Conservation Paleobiology does a bit of both. At US$40, it is a very compelling compilation of works ideally suited for an advanced undergraduate or postgraduate discussion course. It provides an excellent entry point to the field of conservation palaeobiology at a time when the insights of the fossil record have never been so relevant to our understanding of extant ecosystems.
Conservation Paleobiology is a slightly expanded reprint of the short course proceedings titled ‘Conservation Paleobiology: Using the Past to Manage for the Future’ (Dietl and Flessa, 2009). Aside from new material at the start of each section, the individual contributions have not been updated to reflect work done since 2009, but the volume retains its utility as a primer of techniques and starting point for those new to the field of conservation palaeobiology. The book contains 15 chapters organised into three sections: Conservation Paleobiology in Near Time, Conservation Paleobiology in Deep Time and Conservation Paleobiology at Work. Each section begins with an introduction (new in this printing) including citations to work published since 2009, and a new Chapter 15 presents a discussion of how various palaeobiologists have tried to close the gap between the promise of conservation palaeobiology and its application.
Conservation paleobiology in near time
While the past 2.5 million years is considered in Section One, much of the work includes Holocene age data. These eight contributions should contain at least some material familiar to contributors and/or readers of The Holocene. A great effort was made to cover a range of methods, data types, ecosystems and organismal groups; so you are likely to also find some less familiar ideas. In general, Near Time approaches benefit from a wealth of data on species living in geographies most similar to the present day. While this similarity has been key to the acceptance of these data by ecologists and managers, it also constrains our ability to examine a world with very different physical conditions. While I hope that the readers of The Holocene may be drawn in by this section, I hope that they also explore Section Two.
Conservation paleobiology in deep time
In some ways, this section, comprising five contributions, is the most important to readers and contributors to The Holocene because of the relative unfamiliarity of the topics covered. If the goal is to use the fossil record to look at possible futures, then we need to look beyond the Holocene, and many of these methods, although applied to older data, are extremely relevant to the Holocene fossil record. While older records are more scarce and scattered than the Holocene record, they provide insights into physical conditions very different than today, but perhaps not so different than the near future. Some of the techniques and methods used in Deep Time have been underutilised in the recent record, and this volume provides an easy way to access some of that literature.
Conservation paleobiology at work
This section, comprising only two contributions, is lamentably short. Not due to the negligence of the editors but due to the relatively paucity of good examples where conservation palaeobiological studies have progressed past academic research to application in ecosystem management. Despite many instances where palaeobiological data have contributed to documenting ecosystem change, much less often it is used to craft solutions to the problems documented. There are many reasons for this, including few incentives for academics to pursue applied work or to see their research through to implementation, but here at least they attempt to shine a light on the need to have strong two-way dialogues with conservation practitioners and policymakers. If anything, this section should be a rallying cry to all of us to use our skills, interests, knowledge and data beyond the ivory tower. We face a future world with real challenges and we know things than can help, so I suggest that we have an obligation to do more than write an obituary for the world’s flora and fauna. Especially students should find some solace or suggestions in the final chapter where workers at various career stages discuss how they have managed to balance pure and applied science.