THE TAPHONOMIC RECORD OF ECOLOGICAL CHANGE IN AMBOSELI-PARK, KENYA

Taphonomic research in modern ecosystems provides insights on what we can expect to learn about paleoecology from fossils. A 15-year study o f bone assemblages in Amboseli Park, Kenya, shows that such assemblage s are sensitive recorders of population shifts in dominant herbivore s pecies. Early weathering-stage samples representing 0 to 5 years of ca rcass accumulation show short-term changes in mammalian populations th at track the increase in open grassland and decline in woodland habita ts, and also the removal of domestic stock from the park. Bones on the ground surface of Amboseli are gradually destroyed or buried, and the buried subset provides an analogue for fossil assemblages preserved i n ancient soils.