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. I finished my my PhD in Quaternary entomology at the Czech University of Life Sciences (ČZU), where I participated in Czech paleoecological science projects for seven years. In 2022-2023, I worked at ČZU as a forest modeler, focusing on future forest pest invasions. Since April 2024, I started my individual postdoc project on Quaternary entomology in Vilnius, but keeping ties with Prague. In my free time, I'm singing in a small choir and go to nearby forests to catch beetles for my personal collection.
Freelance services
Since 2026, I offer freelance services related to the identification of subfossil and modern insect remains. I am registered in Lithuania and can identify the insect remains from your sample on a contractual basis, or can be included in your project budget. I specialize in the identification of Coleoptera remains from archaeological as well as natural sediment samples. More information can be found at: https://nickschafstall.wixsite.com/entoarch
Archaeoentomology
From archaeological samples
Quaternary entomology
From sediment deposits
Insect identifications
Modern specimen identification
My Research
Climate, insect biodiversity and changes in landscapes through time
Heading 5
The Early Holocene climate and landscape of the Baltic Region
The Lithuanian Research Council has granted me a two-year individual postdoc project (2024-2026) to collect samples of old sediment (11,000-8000 years) deep out of the ground from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, identify the beetle remains, and reconstruct past climate and landscapes based on these beetle assemblages. Also after this project, I am based at the Nature Research Centre in Vilnius, as a member of the Laboratory of Quaternary Research, supported by the head of the lab Vaida Šeiriene.
Paleoecology projects
My work in paleoecology mainly concerns the use of fossil beetle records from peat bogs and other natural deposits to reconstruct the surrounding landscape. During my PhD, I gained valuable experience with the identification and quantification of bark beetle fossils to record past outbreaks in Central Europe. My most recent work features beetle-based temperature reconstructions from regions in Europe that remain understudied.
See all my research at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick_Schafstall
Selected published articles in scientific journals are:
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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
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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
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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
Schafstall, Svitavská-Svobodová, Kadlec et al. (2023) The Absence of Disturbances Promoted the Expansion of Silver Fir (Abies Alba) in the Bohemian Forest Under Drier Conditions. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology
Schafstall, Dobor, Baldo et al. (2024) Assessing the effect of invasive organisms on forests under information uncertainty: The case of pine wood nematode in continental Europe. Forest Ecosystems.
Schafstall, Benito, Camara-Brugger et al. (2024) Ten simple rules to bridge ecology and palaeoecology by publishing outside palaeoecological journals. PLOS Computational Biology.
Schafstall, Stančikaite, Fewrenca, Šeiriene (2025) First Records of Beetle Fauna (Insecta: Coleoptera) from Late Glacial Sediments of Lithuania: Novel Environmental Reconstructions. Diversity.
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 the efffect of human settlement on local biodiversity. Why do some beetle species live close to humans, while others stay away as far as possible? Other than that, my position at the Nature Research Centre gives me the opportunity to contribute to the knowledge about the long-term history of the Eastern Baltic region.
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
Laboratory of Quaternary Research
State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania
