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Word: paleoecologist (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
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Usage:

...pack-rat midden is a snapshot of the flora and fauna existing within about 50 m ((164 ft.)) of the midden at the time it was accumulating," explains Peter Wigand, a paleoecologist at the University of Nevada's Desert Research Institute. Scientists can pin down the approximate time the snapshot was taken by radiocarbon dating of a preserved twig or fecal pellet; the technique can date specimens that are more than 40,000 years old. And by studying middens of different vintages in the same area, researchers can in effect create a movie from a sequence of snapshots, showing changes...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Nature's Time Capsules | 4/6/1992 | See Source »

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