Denna värld är ett buggigt program: insekternas upp- och nedgång på de brittiska öarna
tor
12
mar
Torsdag 12 mars, 2026kl. 13:00 - 15:00
HUM.H.119
Högre seminariet i arkeologi och miljöarkeologi bjuder in till seminarium med Mattias Sjölander, Uppsala universitet. Seminaret hålls på engelska och har den engelska titeln "This world is a buggy program: the insect rise and decline on the British Isles".
With the rise in large-scale meta-analysis in ecology, using existing and open data, there have been significant advances made in reconstructing Late Quaternary climates and environments in Europe. Large-scale pollen-based modelling approaches have been employed to reconstruct the development of the Holocene landscape, highlighting periods of increased human influence. In comparison, there has been less advancement made in the use of subfossil insect data to perform similar large-scale reconstructions, despite the insights they provide into past human-environment relationships. This is not for a lack of data, as open infrastructures for this purpose already exist.
This presentation uses the online Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database, SEAD, to examine biodiversity trends of beetle communities within the United Kingdom and Ireland during the 16 000 – 0 BP period. Using a meta-analysis approach, we aggregate data from 108 sites across the British Isles and contextualise key periods of environmental and climatic change, including human-driven processes, from a biodiversity perspective. Using modern reference data, environmental reconstructions are informed based on individual insect habitat requirements which can highlight the increased human influence during the Late Holocene, especially following 4 500 BP; reaffirming other evidence of the increased agricultural impact on the British Isles.
Om seminarieserien
I Högre seminariet i arkeologi och miljöarkeologi presenteras och diskuteras aktuell forskning inom arkeologi och miljöarkeologi. Se fler seminarier i serien