Following the success of a pump-priming event in 2022 (Ecological uniformitarianism 1), this online meeting will reunite a diverse community of earth and life scientists to discuss the stability of ecological niches. Earth scientists have long taken the (pseudo-)uniformitarian view that niches are stable and hence that the environments of fossil organisms can be interpreted from the ecology of modern counterparts. Niche change is, however, demonstrated by many invasive speakers. Whether niches are stable or labile has major implications not only for interpreting past environments but also for predicting future communities in the face of ongoing climate and other environmental change. We invite offers of talks (deadline 12 February 2024) concerning niche stability/lability over various taxa and timescales to complement invited lectures from a set of prestigious speakers (see below). Online publication of the proceedings is planned under the Association’s titles. See the website for more information.
https://www.palass.org/meetings-events/ecological-uniformitarianismEcological uniformitarianism—help or hindrance to palaeoecology, palaeoclimatology and conservation biology?
Zoom webinar (hosted by PalAss)
ALA Johnson and J-F Cudennec (University of Derby), EM Harper (University of Cambridge), JAI Hennissen (British Geological Survey), RJ Twitchett and TS White (Natural History Museum, London)
ecologicaluniformitarianism@palass.org