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.). Of course, much of this complex data has been distorted or destroyed by the post-mortem fossilization processes, adding another layer of complexity. Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... An ecosystem, a contraction of ecological and system, refers to the collection of biotic and abiotic components and processes that comprise and govern the behavior of some defined subset of the biosphere. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... Bromalites are the fossilised remains of material sourced from the digestive system of organisms. ... Trace fossils are those details preserved in rocks that are indirect evidence of life. ... A life cycle is a period involving one generation of an organism through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ernst Haeckel coined the term oekologie in 1866. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Fig. ... The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. ...

The environmental complexity factor is normally tackled through statistical analysis of the available numerical data (quantitative paleontology or paleostatistics), while post-mortem processes as a source of information are known as the field of taphonomy. Template:Otherusescccc A graph of a bell curve in a normal distribution showing statistics used in educational assessment, comparing various grading methods. ... Paleontology, palaeontology or palæontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. ... Paleontology often faces phenomena so vast and complex they can be described only through statistics. ... Taphonomy is the study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die. ...

Much paleoecological research focuses on the last two million years (formerly known as the Quarternary period) because older environments are less well-represented in the fossil timeline of evolution. Indeed, many studies concentrate on the Holocene epoch (the last 11,000 years), or the last glacial stage of the Pleistocene epoch (the Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Würm glaciation of the ice age, from 50,000 to 10,000 years ago). Such studies are useful for understanding the dynamics of ecosystem change and for reconstructing pre-industrialization ecosystems. Many public policy decision-makers have pointed to the importance of using paleoecological studies as a basis for choices made in conservation ecology. The Quaternary Period is the geologic time period from the end of the Pliocene Epoch roughly 1. ... This timeline of the evolution of life outlines the major events in the development of life on the planet Earth. ... The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... The Wisconsin (in North America), Weichsel (in Scandinavia), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland) and Würm glaciation (in the Alps) are the most recent glaciations of the Pleistocene, which ended around 10,000 BC. The general glacial advance began about 70,000 BC, and reached its maximum... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Public policy is a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a problem. ... Some conservation ecologists have been concerned about the Amazon rainforest. ...

External Links

• Fox, Douglas. Dig Deeper. Conservation in Practice 7(3):15-21.

This ecology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.