New book analyzes the impact of Quaternary climate changes on the biosphere evolution

Quaternary is the geological period that started 2.6 million years ago, and it is defined by the alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods. Valentí Rull, researcher at Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera of the CSIC (ICTJA-CSC), explains in his new book "Quaternary, ecology, evolution and biogeography" the responses of organisms and ecosystems to the climate changes occurred during this period and how these reactions have determined its unique distribution, its evolution and its ecological dynamics.

The book, edited by Academic Press (Elsevier), explains, through the vision of Palaeoecology, how the biosphere works and its interactions with other elements of the Earth System throughout the Quaternary. The author offers an introduction to the study of the evolutionary and ecological processes that have shaped the present biosphere, under the influences of the glacial and interglacial cycles.

"The present Biosphere is the result of a global reorganization of the Earth's operating system throughout the quaternary. The main reason is the existence of recurrent global glacial-interglacial cycles, but also, in the last millennia, due to the human influence that has changed the life patterns on the Earth", said Valentí Rull.

The book presents a different view of the Quaternary, which has been traditionally seen as a period marked by the extinction of many species and the decline of biodiversity. According to Valentí Rull, the Quaternary is a period of neat diversification. "On one hand, the climate changes have produced biogeographical reorganizations, especially migrations, and, on the other hand, they have stimulated the speciation, exceeding the extinction", says the author.

The book is divided into six chapters that propose gradual progress which starts with an explanation of the climate changes that occurred during the Quaternary period. Over the following chapters, Rull analyzes the effects of all these changes on the organisms and biodiversity, and also on communities and organisms. In the fifth chapter, the author explores the influence of human activity on the Biosphere. In the sixth and last chapter, Rull summarizes all the previous information to understand "how the future may be in a global change scenario".

According to the author, the book also wants to "present palaeoecology as necessary discipline and useful tool to understand the ecological phenomena in the long term, to know what is happening nowadays and also what may happen in the nearby future".

More information:
Rull, V.(2020). Quaternary Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography. Academic Press (Elsevier).278p. ISBN: 9780128204733

More info:
Jordi Cortés, Communications Officer ICTJA-CSIC
jcortes@ictja.csic.es

Provided by Institue of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera