Definition of "paleoecology" []

• The branch of ecology that deals with the interaction between ancient organisms and their environment. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The study of ancient ecosystems is called paleoecology, and in today's world, when global climate change is an international concern, it is of more than passing interest."
• "He is the author of well over 100 research publications including journal articles, book chapters, and six books on desert grassland, the cacti of Sonora, the Sonoran desert tortoise, and packrat middens and the paleoecology of the southwestern deserts."
• "Coral reef paleoecology: coral reefs in space and time ancient coral reefs corals as indicators of climate change coral reefs and climate change"