MAKING MUMMIES TALK Using fossils to understand how seals will respond to environmental change

Understanding how animals responded to environmental shifts in the past may offer important clues as to how they will deal with the challenges of the coming centuries.

Mummies are an especially rich source of information. Beyond just letting us know who lived where in the past, they provide information on population size, body condition, reproductive traits, and feeding preferences as revealed by studies of anatomy,ancient DNA, and forensic chemistry.

The frigid, dry climates of Antarctica are especially conducive to natural mummification of animals. Large numbers of seals have wandered into the Dry Valleys of Antarctica where they perished and now dot the landscape as mummies that can be sampled for studies of past ecology.

Speaker: Paul Kich, UC Santa Cruz