| Abstract: | Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University studying climate change in the Southwestern United States are getting a helping hand?or would that be paw??from prehistoric packrats. By hoarding parts of animals and plants, including seeds and leaves, in garbage piles or ?middens,? these bushy-tailed rodents preserved crucial ecological and environmental information about the past. From these middens, scientists are able to reconstruct plant communities and natural systems from as long ago as 50,000 years. The contents of middens allow scientists to understand how ecosystems responded to rapid, large-scale climate changes of the past. The insights gained from midden research could offer clues to future changes driven by rapid climate shifts. |
| Genre: | USGS Numbered Series |
| ProdID: | 85798 |
| Citation Author: | Cole, Kenneth L. |
| Citation Contributing Office: | USGS Southwest Biological Science Center |
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| Citation Edition: | Version 1.0 |
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| Citation Language: | ENGLISH |
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| Citation Online Only Flag: | Y |
| Citation Phsyical Description: | 2 p. |
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| Citation Public Comments: | Prepared in cooperation with Northern Arizona University |
| Citation Publisher: | Geological Survey (U.S.) |
| Citation Series: | Fact Sheet |
| Citation Series Code: | FS |
| Citation Series Number: | 2008-3053 |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Prehistoric Packrats Piled Up Clues to Climate Change; 2008; FS; 2008-3053; Cole, Kenneth L. |
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| Citation Year: | 2008 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Prehistoric Packrats Piled Up Clues to Climate Change; 2008; FS; 2008-3053; Cole, Kenneth L. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2008_3053.jpg |
| URL (INDEX PAGE): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3053/ |
| Date Other: | Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00 -0500 |
| Publisher: | Geological Survey (U.S.) |
