For previous blog posts, please have a look at my PAGES ECN blog posts:
About the PAGES Early-Career Network: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325687826_The_PAGES_Early-Career_Network About ways to...
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A Little About Me
Nature, insects, and the past have fascinated me since I was little. This made me decide to start a Bachelor's in Biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and later specialize in Paleoecology during my Master's. I chose an exciting but challenging path to specialize even further and to become a Quarternary entomologist. Ever since I came to Prague, there have been many opportunities. During my PhD at the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) I was allowed to mature into a Forest Ecologist. Recently I started a research position at CZU as a forest modeler, and my experience with longer timescales will greatly help me on this new journey. In my free time, I'm singing in a small choir and go to nearby forests to catch beetles for my personal collection.
If you're interested in my CV, you can download it HERE.
My Research
Biodiversity and changes in forests through time
Paleoecology projects
My work in paleoecology mainly concerns the use of fossil beetle records from peat bogs to reconstruct the surrounding landscape, specifically the identification and quantification of bark beetle fossils to record past outbreaks.
See all my research at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick_Schafstall
Selected published articles in scientific journals are:
Schafstall, Kuosmanen, Fettig et al. (2020) Late Glacial and Holocene records of tree-killing conifer bark beetles in Europe and North America: Implications for forest disturbance dynamics. The Holocene
Schafstall, Whitehouse, Kuosmanen et al. (2020). Changes in species composition and diversity of a montane beetle community over the last millennium in the High Tatras, Slovakia: Implications for forest conservation and management. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology
Schafstall, Kuosmanen, Kuneš et al. (2022) Sub-fossil bark beetles as indicators of past disturbance events in temperate Picea abies mountain forests. Quaternary Science Reviews
Future research
Future work on fossil bark beetle remains has the potential to give us more insight in historical natural disturbances in both Europe and North America. Other than that, entomo-archeology remains an important tool to gather evidence of human occupation in a region. Fossil beetles have proven to be a useful tool to quantify efffects of human settlement on local biodiversity.
PAGES ECN
The PAGES Early-Career Network was created in 2018, for early-career researchers in paleo sciences. It provides a platform for researchers to network, share job opportunities and improve their scientific skills. Besides the monthly newsletter, an active blog, webinars and workshops are important products of the network. With more than 500 members and growing, PAGES ECN is becoming an important global network within the community of paleo scientists.
Contact Me
Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic
Department of Forest Ecology
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