Pantropical Dynamics
The Pantropical Dynamics is a collaborative network that unifies researchers interested in ecosystem dynamics across Latin America, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific regions. This intercontinental initiative is committed to unraveling the complexities of vegetation ecosystem dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum (c. 22 ka) using compilations of fossil pollen records.
Our forthcoming publications include continental-scale synthesis of vegetation dynamics of Latin America, Africa, and Indo-Pacific, while we also have individual projects running as part of PhD projects.
Open Science - Our code and data
We are all strongly committed to open science of our data and analysis, and we are linked to major efforts to increase the overall access to fossil pollen data globally.Therefore, we have been part of recent data mobilisation efforts across all continents to the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and all publications are and will be fully open-access with code.
Running projects
Latin American Synthesis
Our work focuses on exploring Latin America’s Holocene vegetation dynamics shedding light on the complex interplay between local factors, historical contingencies, and climate change impacts on ecological systems. Over 100 collaborators are involved for upcoming papers. I am leading this project together with Ondrej Mottl and Jack Williams.
Indo-Pacific Synthesis
The Indo-Pacific Pollen Database (IPPD), initiated by Professor Geoffrey Hope, compiles fossil pollen records from the region, now being integrated into the Neotoma Paleoecology Database. This new compilation is currently being assessed by Annika Herbert to obtain insights into past vegetation changes, particularly in Australia, with potential for investigating human impact and Holocene vegetation dynamics. This project is in collaboration with Simon Haberle, Ondrej Mottl, Jack Williams, Adrian George, and Jessica Blois
African Synthesis
This project focuses on understanding historical vegetation changes in African tropical ecosystems over the past 20,000 years, utilizing newly compiled pollen datasets from the African Pollen Database integrated into the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and harmonized by our R-Fossilpol package. By analyzing rates of ecosystem change through our R-Ratepol package, the study identifies periods of significant change potentially linked to climatic shifts and human activities, contributing to the preservation and conservation of these ecologically critical regions. This project is led by PhD Researcher David Early at the Ivory Paleoecology Lab lead by Sarah Ivory.
Ecoclimate sensitivity in the tropics
Our project focuses on assessing the sensitivity of tropical ecosystems to climate change by analyzing fossil pollen records from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database. Through data retrieval and analysis, the project reveals a high sensitivity of tropical ecosystems, especially in mountainous areas, and highlights the potential impacts of 21st-century climate scenarios on plant distributions and community composition in these regions. This project is led by PhD researcher Adrian George at William’s lab.
Amazonian climate sensitivity - PALOMA
This project aims to unravel the sensitivity of Amazonian ecosystems to climate change by utilizing fossil pollen records to reconstruct historical forest dynamics. Focusing on the Ecuador and Peru lowlands, the study employs innovative pollen-based modeling to connect changes in pollen assemblages with climatic events, shedding light on ecological responses to climate shifts and contributing to the preservation of the crucial Amazon biome. This project is led by upcoming MSCA researcher Dael Sassoon (2024-2026) supervised by Encarni Montoya.