William Gosling named Professor of Palaeoecology and Biogeography

Professor William D. Gosling - Dr William D. Gosling (1976) has been named Professor of Palaeoecology and Biogeography at the University of Amsterdam (UvA)'s Faculty of Science (FNWI). A glance into the past. Palaeoecology, or ecology of the past, is the study of the natural environment from different types of fossils. When asked what sparked his interest for paleoecology, William Gosling replies: 'As a child my parents regularly took me walking in the Peak District National Park and to visit archaeological sites. During these expeditions I developed a strong interest in understanding the landscape that I saw and a fascination with how people had shaped this in the past.' Gosling went on to study physical geography and archaeology. He discovered that looking at ancient micro-fossils, like pollen or fungal spores, can reveal changes in the environment and human activity in the past. Gosling has since become a world-renowned expert in tropical pollen and environmental change during the Quaternary (last 2.6 million years). In his research and education, Gosling seeks to place current issues related to climate change into a broad perspective by studying changes in the environment in the prehistoric past. Lessons for the future. One of the major challenges for modern day society is the threat of human-caused climate change. Knowledge on how past climate change events have affected the environment could help predict future changes. 'A great worry with ongoing climate change is how will this impact the ecosystems around us today. What does warmer climate mean for where different plants can grow?