PeerJ Award Winners at EAVP 2024

The 21st annual European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (EAVP) conference was held in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, in 2024. The event successfully brought together a diverse group of delegates, including researchers and students, who participated in workshops, discussions, and field trips aimed at enhancing collaboration and knowledge sharing. The conference hosted a total of 179 delegates from various countries, representing both students and established researchers in the field of vertebrate palaeontology.

This year’s conference was distinguished by its focus on polar vertebrate palaeontology, making it the first European conference to concentrate specifically on the polar aspects of this field. The main plenary sessions and dedicated parallel sessions focused heavily on studies from the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This emphasis allowed researchers to share findings relevant to these extreme environments, addressing both palaeontological discoveries and the unique challenges of conducting research in polar regions.

The event fostered new collaborations and brought significant attention to the preservation of polar fossil geoheritage, demonstrating the importance of this field within the broader context of palaeontology and environmental science. The high level of engagement in workshops, discussions, and field trips further highlighted the conference’s impact and success.

Arnaud Rebillard PhD student at the Museum für Naturkunde and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?

My PhD project focuses on changes in the paleoecology across the Carboniferous-Permian transition mostly in sedimentary basins of France via the analyses of bromalites (fossilised digested remains), in particular coprolites (fossilised feces), using a variety of techniques (morphological analyses, Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis, 3D analyses using CT and synchrotron data). The detailed descriptions (morphology, content, inner structures etc.) and 3D reconstructions of the bromalites will help to test ecological scenarios (e.g., changes in feeding habits and adaptative strategies) and will provide unique and unprecedented data to help understand how the Permo-Carboniferous changing climate impacted the continental paleofauna. This branch of paleoichnology (the study of trace fossils) has not been extensively studied in the past, but new technologies have allowed for an increased attention for this type of material and already have proven to be extremely informative to better understand past ecosystems.

What first interested you in this field of research?

I had the opportunity to work at Uppsala University on synchrotron scans of Devonian coprolites for my master’s thesis and I was simply blown away by the amount of information, contained in those 3 cm long coprolites. I had heard of coprolite studies before, but I did not think it would be so rewarding working on this type of material. Each coprolite is like a vault you need to open in order to see what is hidden inside. New 3D imaging technologies even allow us to open these coprolites digitally, without having to break the specimens. I think that this dimension really attracted me to this field of research, the excitement of finding remains, sealed inside for hundreds of millions of years and reconstructing interactions from a long-gone ecosystem.

Can you briefly explain the research you presented at EAVP 2024?

At the EAVP 2024, I presented a specimen from the famous lower Permian Bromacker locality (Thuringia, Germany), which provides a unique window into the early evolution of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems. The specimen comprises a cluster of small bones, representing a unique discovery from this locality that was initially thought to be a potential coprolite. However, morphological, elemental analyses and 3D-analyses showed that this specimen is more likely to represent a regurgitalite (fossilised regurgitation). The presentation showed the different methods leading to that interpretation and aimed to show the importance of studying these enigmatic specimens. This study constitutes the first description of an early Permian regurgitalite from a terrestrial ecosystem and provides novel insights into the behavioural ecology and trophic network at the Bromacker locality.

How will you continue to build on this research?

At the moment I’m still at an early stage of my academic career. I just started the second year of my dissertation project, and my next goal together with my co-authors is to submit the manuscript of this lower Permian regurgitalite, which will also constitute a part of my doctoral thesis. I am also continuing my study of the Permo-Carboniferous coprolites and looking forward to presenting my results from this project!

Vanja Simonsen Graduated master student at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?

I am one of those who have had a fascination for paleontology and dinosaurs since I was a small child, always watching documentaries that my mom had to translate for me.

I then did my bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, and my masters in paleontology. My theses were written about coprolites from Svalbard. During my bachelor’s I listened to a podcast about coprolites and they immediately caught my interest. It was very surprising to me that there is much they can tell us about ecosystems and even the animals behavior. When my supervisor for my masters suggested working with coprolites I just knew I had to do it! I also love the humor about being a master of poop.

Can you briefly explain the research you presented at EAVP 2024?

I presented a poster on coprolites from the Grippa bonebed in Svalbard. My goal was to get a better understanding of the marine ecosystem in the Early Triassic of Svalbard, as well as documenting what the coprolites can be used for and try to identify who produced them. The research was done by studying their overall shapes, thin sections, and micro-CT scanning. From this, it was possible to identify who produced the coprolites, their diets and digestive efficiency. The CT-scans also revealed the very first invertebrates ever found in the Grippa bonebed!

How will you continue to build on this research?

The project is done and there is no planned future work in this. If everything aligns, I would be interested to continue the work if possible. Only half of the collected material were used, so there could still be many secrets to discover within these coprolites.