Big Questions in Paleontology

Big Questions International

What is your BIG Question in Paleontology?

We seek to identify the Big Questions in Paleontology that will motivate research in our field for the coming years.

The initiative seeked to identify the Big Questions in Paleontology that will motivate research in our field for the coming years.

The goal of the Big Questions project was to develop a community-based vision to guide research in paleontology in the years ahead. To accomplish this goal, paleontologists from around the world were invited to submit their Big Questions and to participate in the working groups that then further developed and refined those questions.

After a public call, their were 12 topic-specific working groups and approximately 175 paleontologists participating in the project. The paleontologists come from several dozen countries and included the full range of career level, from students to emeriti.

If you would like to learn more about the BigQuestions, please visit the website or contact Jansen Smith / Elizabeth Dowding

BQ Publications

What is Conservation Paleobiology? Tracking 20 years of research and development”, Erin M. Dillon et al. (3 master’s and 2 PhD students from the FAU included), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (invited contribution): Integrating Conservation Biology and Paleobiology to Manage Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing World), 2022