Mummified seals reveal ecological impact of ice change
Thursday, October 22, 2015 - 07:40
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Scientists are using the mummified remains of seals freeze-dried in Antarctica to examine the long-term effects of changing ice patterns on marine mammal ecology. Recent work, presented this week at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meetings in Dallas, Texas, examined over five hundred seal mummies collected from the Ross Sea region. Findings suggest that while some species maintain a similar ecology in spite of environmental change, others underwent significant shifts in diet.