Team Publications

Publications by the members of the Paleosynthesis Team and Scientific Advisory Board

1 to 6 of 518

24AUG 2026
News
Reduced extinction risk for autotrophs in the open ocean
“The marine plankton record offers a unique archive of deep-time ecological and evolutionary dynamics in the open ocean. With distinct biomineral compositions, trophic modes and other diverse ecological and geographic preferences, fossilized marine unicellular plankton groups (diatoms, calcareous nannofossils/coccolithophores, radiolarians, planktonic foraminifera and dinoflagellates) allow for the identification of traits affecting extinction risk over millions […]“The marine plankton record offers a unique archive of deep-time ecological and evolutionary dynamics in the open ocean. With distinct biomineral compositions, trophic modes and other diverse ecological and geographic preferences, fossilized marine unicellular plankton groups (diatoms, calcareous nannofossils/coccolithophores, radiolarians, planktonic foraminifera and dinoflagellates) allow for the identification of traits affecting extinction risk over millions […]
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24AUG 2026
News
The Impact of Climate Change and Human Habitation
“Aim: Direct human impacts and climate change jeopardise the stability of ecological systems. Recent trends are built atop a long history of vegetation change from the Pleistocene deglaciation and Holocene human population expansion. We aimed to model a long-term measure of ecological stability over the last 20,000years, a period that includes both the most recent […]
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24AUG 2026
Team Publications
New insights into the extinction and recovery of marine vertebrates
“The impact of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction on marine vertebrates is incompletely understood due to their scarce fossil record. To better understand marine vertebrate extinction and recovery patterns in the Dolomites (Italy), we studied newly collected material and specimens from existing museum collections. Our findings include Acrodus sp. [Chondrichthyes], Bobasatrania aff. ladina [Osteichthyes], an indeterminate actinopterygian from the Changhsingian Bellerophon Formation, […]“The impact of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction on marine vertebrates is incompletely understood due to their scarce fossil record. To better understand marine vertebrate extinction and recovery patterns in the Dolomites (Italy), we studied newly collected material and specimens from existing museum collections. Our findings include Acrodus sp. [Chondrichthyes], Bobasatrania aff. ladina [Osteichthyes], an indeterminate actinopterygian from the Changhsingian Bellerophon Formation, […]
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04AUG 2026
Team Publications
From radiation to provinces: spatial scaling of Cambrian diversity
“The Cambrian radiation is commonly described as a rapid increase in biodiversity and morphological disparity, yet the spatial organization underlying this diversification remains less well resolved. Using fossil occurrence data compiled from global databases, this chapter examines how Cambrian diversity was assembled across space and how patterns of regional differentiation varied through time. Our results […]“The Cambrian radiation is commonly described as a rapid increase in biodiversity and morphological disparity, yet the spatial organization underlying this diversification remains less well resolved. Using fossil occurrence data compiled from global databases, this chapter examines how Cambrian diversity was assembled across space and how patterns of regional differentiation varied through time. Our results […]
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04AUG 2026
Team Publications
Late Oligocene dugongid remains from India: insights into past seagrass-sirenian associations in the eastern Tethys
“Sirenians, or sea cows, were among the first mammals to become fully aquatic and are closely tied to seagrass ecosystems in shallow seas. Establishing direct links between fossil sirenians and seagrass habitats, however, is challenging due to the poor preservation potential of seagrass leaves. Here we report sirenian rib remains from a newly identified late […]
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04AUG 2026
Team Publications
Climate-extreme-driven genesis of a Cretaceous dinosaur Lagerstätte
“Konservat-Lagerstätten provide exceptional records of past ecosystems, yet the environmental and climatic processes governing their formation in extreme climatic regimes remain a significant, unresolved conundrum. Here we present a novel, process-based mechanism for the Villaggio del Pescatore Konservat-Lagerstätte (northeastern Italy; Late Cretaceous, 80 Ma), which preserves a diverse terrestrial and aquatic biota. Integrating high resolution synchrotron micro-analyses, bulk geochemistry, […]“Konservat-Lagerstätten provide exceptional records of past ecosystems, yet the environmental and climatic processes governing their formation in extreme climatic regimes remain a significant, unresolved conundrum. Here we present a novel, process-based mechanism for the Villaggio del Pescatore Konservat-Lagerstätte (northeastern Italy; Late Cretaceous, 80 Ma), which preserves a diverse terrestrial and aquatic biota. Integrating high resolution synchrotron micro-analyses, bulk geochemistry, […]
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