the branch of ecology that studies ancient ecology
The application of ecological concepts to fossil communities.
The study of the relationships between ancient plants and animals and their environments.
the branch of ecology concerned with identifying and interpreting the relationships of ancient plants and animals to their environment
The branch of science that deals with the ecology of extinct and fossil plants and animals.
An area of paleontology devoted to studying the relationship between prehistoric plants and animals and their environments.
reconstruction of past environments, especially from a viewpoint of ancient plant and animal life.
the study of the relationship of living things to environment and each other in prehistoric times; the ecology of prehistoric life. [AHDOS
n: The study of ancient ecosystems. Paleoecologists use data from such sources as tree rings, geologic deposits, fossils (pollen is a particularly popular tool), and coral bores to reconstruct the climate and ecology or ancient ecosystems.
Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It includes the study of fossil organisms and their bromalites and other trace fossils in terms of their life cycle, their living interactions, their natural environment, their manner of death and burial. Paleoecology's aim is therefore to build the most detailed model possible of the life environment of those living organisms we find today as fossils; such reconstruction work involves complex interactions among environmental factors (temperature, food supplies, degree of solar illumination, etc.).
