A new method in palaeoecology: fish community structure indicates environmental changes |
| |
| Authors: | Ulrich Schmölcke Kenneth Ritchie |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schloss Gottorf, 24837 Schleswig, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | A new method to reconstruct aquatic palaeoenvironments is presented. It is based on a non-metrical ‘fish environment reconstruction
index’ (FERI), calculated for the total fish community recorded at an archaeological site. As an example, a FERI is generated
for the Baltic Sea using the ecological requirements of northern European fish species. The present study evaluates the proposed
method by using fish bone assemblages from a region (the middle Holocene Baltic Sea coast) with well-studied hydrographic
history. The bones originate from consecutive human riparian and coastal settlements of hunter-gatherers. The results obtained
for the parameters salinity and sediment structure correlate well with geological knowledge. The new method shows a successive
change from freshwater to brackish and finally to nearly marine conditions before, during, and towards the end of the marine
transgression that created the present Baltic Sea. Additionally, a shift in the sediment structure from muddy to sandy/rocky
conditions is recognisable. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
