West Cork Palaeoecology - Blog
The Environment of West Cork through Time
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Notes from the Three Lakes palaeoecology project, including fieldwork, sediment coring, environmental DNA, biological proxies, radiocarbon dating, and the long-term environmental history of south-west Ireland.
Late-glacial lake sediments are often interpreted through their colour, with dark organic layers taken to indicate higher biological productivity and blue-grey minerogenic layers taken to indicate sparse life. This post considers why that interpretation may be too simple, and how sedaDNA may reveal biological signals hidden within rapidly deposited minerogenic sediments.
While searching for terrestrial plant macrofossils suitable for radiocarbon dating, unexpected biological micro-remains emerged from the late glacial sediments. This post explores bryozoan statoblasts, Chara oospores, non-pollen palynomorphs and what these small traces may reveal about past lake conditions.
Radiocarbon dating is central to building a reliable chronology, but selecting suitable material from lake sediments is not straightforward. This post explains why terrestrial plant macrofossils are preferred, how they are extracted, and why late glacial sediments can make the search for datable material especially challenging.
A look ahead at the next stage of the Three Lakes palaeoecology project, including fieldwork, surface-sediment work, sediment core analysis, biological proxy development and planning for the analytical programme that will shape the coming months.
Part two of the landscape history of Three Lakes revisits the interpretation of the site using historical mapping and landscape evidence, developing the possibility that the modern lake system reflects substantial alteration of an earlier hydrological landscape.
A high-resolution drone survey and photogrammetric model provide a much more detailed view of the Three Lakes landscape than earlier elevation models, revealing fine-scale features that help interpret drainage, landforms and site history.
Recovering sediment cores from Three Lakes marked a major milestone in the project. This post describes the fieldwork, the practicalities of coring from the lake, and the importance of obtaining the sediment archive needed for palaeoecological reconstruction.
This post introduces the development of DANU, the Irish palaeoecology metadata database, and explains how the earlier scoping review expanded into a structured resource for recording biological indicators used to reconstruct past environments.
Bioinformatics turns large DNA sequence datasets into meaningful ecological information. This post introduces the role of bioinformatics in sedimentary ancient DNA research and explains why data processing is essential for interpreting past biodiversity from lake sediments.
A summary of presentations from the Tromsø environmental DNA conference, highlighting key themes in sedaDNA research, DNA preservation, taphonomy, methodological development and the expanding use of ancient DNA in palaeoecology.
A research trip to Tromsø placed environmental DNA research in its Arctic context, combining conference sessions, landscape observations and reflection on how climate, ecosystems and palaeoecological methods intersect in northern environments.
This post explores the relationship between soil fertility and biodiversity, considering how ecosystems can decline, recover and reorganise through changes in nutrients, soil development, species composition and environmental pressure.
The first landscape-history post examines field observations, historical maps and palaeoecological context to begin reconstructing how water, drainage and human intervention may have shaped the Three Lakes site over time.
Biological environmental proxies such as pollen, chironomids and testate amoebae are key tools for reconstructing past environments. This post introduces the proxy evidence used in Irish palaeoecology and the need to organise and review existing information.
Early fieldwork focused on collecting surface sediment cores from Three Lakes and a nearby high-elevation lake. These modern samples provide a reference point for interpreting longer sediment records and understanding present-day lake conditions.
This post marks the start of the palaeoecological analysis, introducing the project aims and the use of testate amoebae and chironomids as biological indicators for reconstructing changing environmental conditions.
An introduction to the Three Lakes project: a multi-proxy investigation using lake sediments, fossils and sedimentary ancient DNA to reconstruct biodiversity change in south-west Ireland since the last glacial period.
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