Project Details
Projekt
Ground Beetles as human-independent landscape proxy
Applicants
Professor Dr. Lars Opgenoorth; Dr. Joachim Schmidt
Subject Area
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
Physical Geography
Physical Geography
Term
from 2016 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270995238
Subproject P7 (Ground Beetles as human-independent landscape proxy) uses wingless soil-dwelling endemic ground beetles as proxies to reconstruct Last Glacial Maximum paleoclimate and paleoecology in the Ethiopian Highlands. With respect to humidity as the most important factor influencing persistence of human as well as other mammal populations, we additionally aim to find evidence for humid habitats during dry periods of former glaciations. This refers in particular to the Bale Mountains but major paleoecological aspects may also be derived for other Ethiopian mountains. In Phase 1 we found evidence of permanent surface water along all slopes of the Ethiopian Highlands during the last glacial period testified by an unexpectedly rich local endemic ground beetle fauna. In Phase 2 we will provide a detailed mapping of the permanent paleo-surface water system of the Bale Mountains. In addition, we will derive LGM temperature depression for all escarpments of the Bale Mountains from distributional data of the local endemic beetle species and haplotypes, respectively. Humidity estimations and paleotemperature derivations provide LGM paleoenvironmental conditions of southern Ethiopian mountains. Our aim is to estimate the minimum forest area during the driest periods of the last glaciation and therewith, to estimate the distribution and quantity of habitats suitable for wild animals and Stone Age foragers, respectively. With the help of the ground beetle phylogeny and phylogeography we additionally aim to find evidence of forest cover in the area during driest periods of former glaciations. This contributes to the question whether the Ethiopian Highlands may have uninterruptedly provided suitable habitats for humans during the Quaternary. The taxonomic and systematic work package is fundamental for the “Ground Beetle of Ethiopia Reference Collection” to be deposited at the Zoological Museum, Addis Ababa University (with C2). It includes management instruction of entomological collections and education in entomological fieldwork, insect preparation, conservation and identification.
DFG Programme
Research Units
