Matthew Peros
Phone: (819) 822-9600 x 2783
Office: Department of Environmental Studies and Geography, Bishop's University
Building: 2600 College Street. Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1M 1Z7
Biography:
I am a broadly trained physical geographer working at the interface between the climatological, ecological, and archaeological sciences. My research seeks to answer fundamental questions within two broad areas: (1) what have been the driving forces behind climate and landscape change during the Late Quaternary? and (2), how has the natural environment constrained/provided opportunities for cultural and biological change? To address questions in these areas, I use a field- and laboratory-based approach, integrating information derived from geological (e.g., sedimentological, geochemical) and paleoecological (e.g., palynological) investigations with archaeological and paleontological data. At present, my regional specializations include eastern Canada and the Caribbean, although I have also worked in high-latitude (northern) environments.
Teaching Areas:
Climate Change, Research Methods, Tropical Environments
Research Interests:
Geoarchaeology, Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
Publications:
Peros, M.C., Gregory, B.R., Matos, F., Reinhardt, E.G., Desloges, J.P. (accepted). Late Holocene record of lagoon evolution, climate change, and hurricane strikes from south-eastern Cuba. The Holocene.
Roksandic, M., Buhay, W.M., Rodríguez Suárez, R., Chinique des Armas, Y., Peros, M.C., Roksandic, I., Vieira, L.M., Arredondo, C., Martinez Fuentes, A., Smith, D.G. (in press). Radiocarbon and stratigraphic chronology at Canímar Abajo, Matanzas, Cuba. Radiocarbon.
Gregory, B.R., Peros, M.C., Reinhardt, E.G., Donnelly, J.P., (2015). Foraminiferal and XRF elemental analysis of two Cuban lagoons document increased aridity during the mid-late Holocene.Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 426: 229-241.
Milne, G.A., Peros, M.C. (2013). Data–model comparison of Holocene sea-level change in the circum-Caribbean region. Global and Planetary Change. 107: 119–131.
Gajewski, K., Munoz, S., Peros, M., Viau, A., Morlan, R., Betts, M. (2011). The Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database (CARD): archaeological radiocarbon dates in North America and their paleoenvironmental context. Radiocarbon. 53: 371–394.
Munoz, S., Gajewski, K., Peros, M.C. (2010). Synchronous environmental and cultural change in the prehistory of the northeastern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107: 22008–22013.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K. (2010). On the glacial and postglacial history of the western Canadian Arctic Islands. Quaternary Research. 75: 307-308.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K., Paull, T., Ravindra, R., Podritske, B. (2010). Multi-proxy record of postglacial environmental change, south-central Melville Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Quaternary Research. 73: 247-258.
Cooper, J., Peros, M.C. (2010). The archaeology of climate change in the Caribbean. Journal of Archaeological Science. 37: 1226-1232.
Peros, M.C., Munoz, S.E., Gajewski, K., Viau, A.E. (2010). Prehistoric demography of North America inferred from radiocarbon data. Journal of Archaeological Science. 37: 656-664.
Kaufman, D.S., Schneider, D.P., McKay, N.P., Ammann, C.M., Bradley, R.S., Briffa K.R., Miller, G.H., Otto-Bliesner, B.L., Overpeck, J.T., Vinther, B.M., Arctic Lakes 2k Project Members (Abbott, M., Axford, Y., Bird, B., Birks, H.J.B., Bjune, A.E., Briner, J., Cook, T., Chipman, M., Francus, P., Gajewski, K., Geirsdóttir, Á., Hu, F.S., Kutchko, B., Lamoureux, S., Loso, M., MacDonald, G., Peros, M., Porinchu, D., Schiff, C., Seppä, H., Thomas, E.). (2009). Recent warming reverses long-term Arctic cooling. Science 325: 1236-1239.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K. (2009). Pollen-based reconstructions of late Holocene climate from the central Canadian Arctic. Journal of Paleolimnology. 41: 161-175.
Gabriel, J.J., Reinhardt, E.G., Peros, M.C., Davidson, D.E., van Hengstum, P.J., Beddows, P.A. (2009). A reconstruction of the environmental evolution of an open system cenote in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Journal of Paleolimnology. 42: 199-213.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K., Viau, A. (2008). Continental-scale tree population response to rapid climate change, competition, and disturbance. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 17: 658-669.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K. (2008). Testing the reliability of pollen-based diversity estimates. Journal of Paleolimnology. 40: 357-368.
Cowling, S.A., Cox, P.M., Jones, C.D., Maslin, M.A., Peros, M., Spall, S.A. (2008). Simulated glacial and interglacial vegetation across Africa: implications for species phylogenies and trans-African migration of plants and animals. Global Change Biology. 14: 827-840.
Peros, M.C., Gajewski, K. (2008). Holocene climate and vegetation change on Victoria Island, western Canadian Arctic. Quaternary Science Reviews. 27: 235-249.
Peros, M.C., Reinhardt, E.G., Davis, A.M. (2007). A 6000 cal yr record of ecological and hydrological changes from Laguna de la Leche, north coastal Cuba. Quaternary Research. 67: 69-82.
Peros, M.C., Reinhardt, E.G., Schwarcz, H.P., Davis, A.M. (2007). High-resolution paleosalinity reconstruction from Laguna de la Leche, north coastal Cuba, using Sr, O, and C isotopes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 245: 535-550.
Peros, M.C., Graham, E., Davis, A.M. (2006). Stratigraphic Investigations at Los Buchillones, a Taino site on the North Coast of Central Cuba. Geoarchaeology. 21: 403-428.
Finkelstein, S.A., Peros, M.C., Davis, A.M. (2005). Integrating paleoecological indicators: a case study using pollen and diatoms from a Great Lakes coastal wetland. Journal of Paleolimnology. 33: 1-12.
Moalem, S., Storey, K.B., Percy, M.E., Peros, M.C., Perl, D.P. (2005). The sweet thing about Type 1 diabetes: A cryoprotective evolutionary adaptation. Medical Hypotheses. 65: 8-16.