Exploring the past to protect the future: an analysis of conservation paleobiology in South America

Abstract

Conservation paleobiology, an expanding field, employs taphonomy tools to investigate past environmental conditions and organisms before human impacts, thereby addressing key conservation issues. This review examines the concepts, approaches and events in conservation paleobiology, emphasizing aquatic and coastal organisms and the often-overlooked contributions from Brazil and South America. South America, with its vulnerable biodiversity, unique geology and rich fossil diversity, is a natural laboratory for understanding ecosystems—a considerable potential as a center for leading conservation paleobiology research. However, South America is underrepresented, contributing to only 5% of total publications (67% of it is from Brazil). Most South American authors are geoscientists publishing mainly on mollusks, also they produced fewer studies than those from more developed countries. Noteworthy, the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development ranks third globally in funding for conservation paleobiology articles. Clearly, conservation paleobiology is still predominantly practiced in developed nations and geoscience fields. Other challenges include underutilization of geohistorical data and a gap between theory and practice. To address these issues, future studies should integrate conservationist perspectives and align them with societal and conservation needs. Hence, the anticipated growth in South American conservation paleobiology could bolster environmental conservation and promote sustainability for future generations.