Paleoecology

[2] While the functions and relationships of fossil organisms may not be observed directly (as in ecology), scientists can describe and analyze both individuals and communities over time.

To do so, paleoecologists make the following assumptions: The aim of paleoecology is to build the most detailed model possible of the life environment of previously living organisms found today as fossils.

Such reconstruction takes into consideration complex interactions among environmental factors such as temperatures, food supplies, and degree of solar illumination.

The environmental complexity factor is normally tackled through statistical analysis of the available numerical data (quantitative paleontology or paleostatistics), while the study of post-mortem processes is known as the field of taphonomy.

Because the Quaternary period is well represented in geographically extensive and high temporal-resolution records, many hypotheses arising from ecological studies of modern environments can be tested at the millennial scale using paleoecological data.