Lichens and drones reveal dinosaur bones

Vibrant orange lichens are helping scientists discover dinosaur fossils in Canada. Current biology.

An international team of experts and remote sensing scientists has made an interesting discovery at Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta. They found that certain lichen species preferentially colonized exposed dinosaur bones, creating signatures that could be detected from 30 meters above the ground using drones.

Dr Brian Achar, from the University of Reading (UK) and lead author of the paper, said, “This study highlights how modern biology can help us find ancient people.

“It’s remarkable to consider that these lichens, essentially tiny ecosystems, rest on the remains of dinosaurs that died 75 million years ago. Using drone technology to detect vernacrum signatures of lichens could potentially revolutionize how fossils are searched for.”

The team found that two lichen species – Rossocia elegans and Xanthomendoza trachyphylla – made up more than 50% of the exposed fossil bones but less than 1% of the surrounding rock fragments. This is likely because dinosaur bones provide alkaline, calcareous and porous substrata favored by these lichens.

Dr Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology (Canada) said, “This pattern of lichen growing preferentially on fossil bone has never been quantified before.

Using a remotely piloted aerial vehicle system (drones) with specialized sensors, the team successfully identified lichen colonized fossils from aerial images with 2.5 cm pixel resolution. Lichens exhibit distinct spectral properties, with low reflectance in the blue wavelengths and high reflectance in the infrared regions.

This method can offer significant advantages for paleontological prospecting, especially in remote regions where traditional ground surveys are difficult. The approach could accelerate fossil discovery while reducing field costs and environmental impact.

This research is based on decades of observations by ecologists. In 1980, paleontologist Darren H. Tanke hypothesized that the orange pigment of lichen on centrosaurus bones might be detectable by satellites. This forecast is much closer than can be found using airborne drone technology.

Dr. Derek Paddle, part of the University of Lethbridge (Canada) remote sensing team, said, “This drone study lays the foundation for mapping many large areas using aircraft and satellites. The new lichen indicator we developed will help locate foams in remote fields. Experts from this international team to explore.

The team emphasizes that this method works well in semi-arid environments like the Canadian Badlands, where certain lichen species thrive and remain exposed long enough to colonize bones. They plan to explore the wider range of this association in their future work.