Climate Change & Human ImpactThrough Fossil Insects

”Say, Thag... wall of ice closer today?”

Phil Buckland

”Say, George... sea defence wall taller today?”

Contents

PhD Aims

Why Insects (mainly beetles)

Bugs - Coleopteran Ecology Package

Insects & Climate

Insects & Human Impact/Environmental Change

Sites

AimsCompare Early Holocene climate and environmental signals from fossil insects for:- remote/undisturbed sites.- sites with known human activity.

Create an Early Holocene climate change curve for Northern Sweden from fossil insects.

Enhance the capabilities of the Bugs Coleopteran Ecology Package - with respect to climate, environmental & archaeological interpretations.

NOTE: These are intrinsically related.

Why insects?Diversity - ~99% of all species of animal, found in all terrestrial and freshwater-brackish environments.

Habitat specific, depend on a range of environmental factors e.g. temperature, humidity, food source...

75% are beetles (skalbaggar)

Species not dependent on higher vegetation/other species

Environmental dependency can be determined from collection of modern specimens

Fig.

Species constancy – migrate rather than evolve (Exceptions in isolated islands/mountains)

Respond rapidly – annual reproductive cyclesFig.

Species transported with hostFig.

Preserve well in waterlogged (or dry) sedimentsFig.

Often identifiable to species on fossil partsFig.

BUGSDatabase of Coleopteran Ecology & Distribution

5400+ taxa

2200+ references

- approx. 23000+ fossil record entries

- 19300+ habitat entries- 16500+ distribution entries

420+ sites with abundance/collection data (mainly archaeological & geological)

includes:

BUGS - Fossil RecordDiacheila arctica

Sortable on any field.All fields hotlinked…

BUGS - Fossil RecordDiacheila arctica Late Glacial UK distribution

Modern

BUGS - Query features

Complex questions, such as:

list all species found at English Late Glacial sites

list all sites where selected species are found

list species with similar ecology that are equally threatened

summarise ecology codes for a site (basic diversity stat’s)

statistically compare sites and species lists

show sites with similar faunas

Climate ChangeEarly Holocene Climate Change

Last Ice AgeBølling/AllerødInterstadial

Younger Dryas stadial8200 Cold Event...

GISP2 Dataset

Rapid Climate Change EventsA widespread, ~200 year abrupt cold event 8200 years ago

(Oxy

gen

Isot

opes

)

Insect responses to change (2)Example: Diachila arctica

Present distributionYounger Dryas?

Insects and Climate ChangeOverlays modern temperature data on fossil assemblages

1. Collect modern temperature dependency data for species...

Thermal envelope for species

TMAX = mean temperature of warmest month

TRANGE = difference between TMAX and mean of coldest month

- T R an g e +

- T

Max

+

S p e c ies 1

Beetle finds

+

Weather stationdata

Mutual Climatic Range (MCR)

Mutual Climatic Range (MCR)Overlays modern temperature data on fossil assemblages

2. Calculate temperature overlaps for species in each sample...

- T R an g e +

- T

Max

+

S p e c ies 1

- T R an g e +

- T

Max

+

S p e c ies 1

S p e c ies 2

- T R an g e +

- T

Max

+

S p e c ies 1

S p e c ies 2

...S p ec ies n

S p e c ies 3

3. Construct time series (if sequential sampling) and C14 calibrate...

C a len d er y ea rs b efore p resen t

0 .3

0 .2

0 .1

0 .0

05

1 01 52 02 53 0

-3 0-2 5-2 0-1 5-1 0

-505

1 0

1 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

1 6 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

R a d io ca rb on yea rs B P

T.M

in Co

T.M

ax Co

Acc

um

ulat

ion

(m

ice

per

yr)

G la n l ly n n a uS t .B e e s

2 5 -y e a r s m o o th e d d a ta

P re b o re a lYo u n g e rD ry a s

B ø ll in g e r/A lle rø dO ld e s t D ry a s

D a ta fro m A lle y (1 9 9 3 ) , N a tu re 3 6 2 a n d W a lk e r (1 9 9 3 ) , Q u a te rn a ry N e w s le tte r 6 9

e t a l. e t a l.

MCRdataUK

Mutual Climatic Range (MCR)

3. Construct time series (if sequential sampling) and C14 calibrate...

4. Compare with other datasets

C a len d er y ea rs b efore p resen t

0 .3

0 .2

0 .1

0 .0

05

1 01 52 02 53 0

-3 0-2 5-2 0-1 5-1 0

-505

1 0

1 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

1 6 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

R a d io ca rb on yea rs B P

T.M

in Co

T.M

ax Co

Acc

um

ulat

ion

(m

ice

per

yr)

G la n l ly n n a uS t .B e e s

2 5 -y e a r s m o o th e d d a ta

P re b o re a lYo u n g e rD ry a s

B ø ll in g e r/A lle rø dO ld e s t D ry a s

D a ta fro m A lle y (1 9 9 3 ) , N a tu re 3 6 2 a n d W a lk e r (1 9 9 3 ) , Q u a te rn a ry N e w s le tte r 6 9

e t a l. e t a l.

MCRdataUK

GISP2

Mutual Climatic Range (MCR)

Integrating MCR & BUGS

1. Convert existing MCR data to a more useable form.

3. Program new system for MCR envelope calculation fromhistorical weather station data and historical beetle finds.

2. Create user interface for MCR analyses.

a) Nearest geographical neighbour b) Lapse rate interpolation

Extracting the signals...Compare background signals (climate?) with disturbed signals

Total signaleg. PCA axis 1

W interTem p.

ComponentsResolved through semiquantitative or statistics...

S um m erTem p.

P recip -ita tion

etc...

Extracting the signals...Compare background signals (climate?) with disturbed signals

Total signaleg. PCA axis 1

W interTem p.

ComponentsResolved through semiquantitative or statistics...

S um m erTem p.

P recip -ita tion

F orestS igna l

D om estican im a ls

A gric .S igna l

Background signals

Disturbed signals

Post Settlement Landscape Change

in IcelandInsects

PlantMacro.Pollen

SoilPropertiesGeologyTephraC14

Bare groundWoodlandFarm Deserted farm

Sites - Njulla, Abiskobackground signals

~9500BP →

Sites - Njulla, Abisko

~8500BP →

Sites - Hemavanbackground signals

Sites - Hemavanbackground signals

~6000BP → & ~9000BP →

Sites - David’s Bog (Fagerviksjön)disturbed signals

...others under consideration...

phil.buckland@arke.umu.se

www.bugs2000.org

www.umu.se/envarchlab

www.umu.se/archaeology

Bugs in the web...

Figures

Diachila arctica

Modern distributional data

Insect responses to change (1)

Transported with hosts...

Sheep lice - Damalinia ovis

Oryzaephilus surinamensisSågtandad plattbagge

Grain mites

Rhy

zope

rtha

dom

inic

aK

apuc

iner

bagg

e

Sitophilus granariusKornvivel

Preserve well...Heleomyza borealis - pupariaGreenland ~1350AD

Dung beetles (Aphodius sp.)Armana, Egypt ~1350BC

Alphitobius diaperinuslesser mealworm beetle

Fossils identifiable to species

Notiophilus bigutatus

Responding to Climate ChangeExample: Diachila arctica

Present distributionYounger Dryas?