2018–2024: Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale, Bando 2012 (DD. N. 222/2012), Sezione 04/A2, professore di I fascia
2017–present: Privatdozentin at the LMU Munich, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften
2009–2017: various lectures at the University of Innsbruck, LMU Munich and Cagliari
2005–present: Curator of paleontology at the Museum of Nature South Tyrol, Bozen, Italy.
2004–2005: Post-doc, Department of Geology, University of Ferrara, Italy. Project: Middle Triassic Floras of the Dolomites
Funded research projects: ~2,000,00.00 EURO
I participated at more than 80 conferences with more than 270 contributions (poster or presentations) und published more than 170 publications in peer reviewed journals, 25 book chapters, 2 books and 22 chapters for public outreach, organized 4 special volumes.
I have been teaching numerous courses for Bachelor and Master degree programsat the LMU, and I was supervisor of several Bachelor, Master and PhD theses.
EDUCATION
2017: Habilazione (venia legendi) at the LMU München, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften
2004: PhD at the University of Modena, Italy PhD-thesis: The Terrestric Macroflora of the Middle Triassic of the Dolomites and their biostratigraphical and palaeoclimatical interpretation with the aid of palynomorphs
1999: MSc (cum laude) in Natural Sciences,University of Ferrara, thesis: The Ladinian Flora (Middle Triassic) of the Dolomites
An unpredictable body size response to the Permo-Triassic climate crisis William J. Foster, Herwig Prinoth, Evelyn Kustatscher, Michael Hautmann Biogeosciences, 2026 A predictive ecological response to both the present and past climate crises is that marine ectotherm species will become smaller before going extinct or fluctuate in abundance and size with environmental conditions. The problem with studying past climate events with high rates and magnitude of warming, which may serve as analogues for projected climate change, is that very few species, or even genera, survived such events. Here, we utilized one of the few records of marine bivalves that spans the Permian-Triassic climate crisis with specimen-level data and at a high resolution. These measurements come from the Bellerophon and Werfen formations of the Dolomites in Italy, representing relatively shallow marine environments. At the species-level, there is almost a complete turnover, and the newly evolved species are typically significantly smaller, but not unusually small, whereas the three surviving species do not show a significant body size change. Our results indicate that the observed temporary size reduction at the genus-level is primarily driven by the preferential evolution of smaller species after the extinction, rather than, as often assumed, by a size decrease within existing species; this challenges the universal validity of the “Lilliput effect” in the sense of direct intra-species dwarfing, but confirms it as a consequence of faunal turnover. Subsequently, there are two pulses of genus-level body size recovery caused by different mechanisms. The first phase (late Griesbachian) is driven by the size-increase of the existing species, whereas the second phase (early Spathian) is also due to the evolution of larger species. The effects of abiotic and biotic factors in controlling these body size dynamics are superimposed during the Early Triassic. These results suggest a mechanism to explain size reductions during climate crises, but does not find a species-level body size reduction to be a forecastable response to extreme climate warming.
Microbially induced sedimentary structures in fluvial settings: the gas domes from the Bolzano Megacaldera (Permian, Italy) Andrea Baucon, Steffen Trümper, Corrado Morelli, Carlos Neto de Carvalho, Roberto Cabella, Evelyn Kustatscher Sedimentology, 2026 Gas domes serve as some of the earliest and most persisting indicators of life on Earth, yet their documentation in continental environments remains sparse. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining gas domes within the Permian fluvial succession of Monte Luco, located in the caldera of the Bolzano Supervolcano. These structures occur as circular elevations on bedding planes. They are interpreted as resulting from gas accumulation beneath microbial mats, a hypothesis supported by comparisons with modern gas domes from both continental and intertidal environments. This microbial mediation highlights the astrobiological potential of gas domes as indicators of ancient life, although morphologically similar features are observed in non‐microbial sand substrates along the Atlantic Coast of Portugal, where they result from water expulsion processes. At Monte Luco, gas domes exhibit a rhythmic stratigraphic occurrence consisting of (1) a basal sandstone with planar lamination and trace fossils ( Planolites , Cylindrichnus ), (2) an overlying cross‐laminated sandstone and (3) a thin, uppermost horizon containing the gas domes. This upper horizon occasionally preserves tetrapod footprints, horizontal undermat‐mining burrows ( Helminthoidichnites ) and arthropod trails ( Diplopodichnus ). The lower intervals are interpreted as being formed in subaqueous conditions, while subsequent subaerial exposure facilitated microbial mat development and rapid colonisation by terrestrial fauna. The Monte Luco gas domes and published examples indicate that gas dome formation is restricted to wet, subaerially exposed substrates with microbial mats and minimal bioturbation. These findings enhance the application of gas domes as palaeoenvironmental proxies and underscore the complex interplay among microbial, sedimentary and hydrological processes in ancient volcanic landscapes.
Phytoplankton Blooms on the Barents Shelf, Svalbard, Associated With the Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction S. Z. Buchwald, D. Birgel, K. Senger, T. Mosociova, Y. Pei, V. Zuchuat, L. G. Tarhan, A. B. Frank, F. Galasso, M. A. Gómez Correa, E. Koşun, B. Karapunar, X. Wang, E. Kustatscher, H. Prinoth, N. Lahajnar, R. Steinkrauss, J. Peckmann, W. J. Foster Agu Advances, 2025 Mid‐ to higher‐latitude shallow marine environments are suggested to serve as refugia for organisms during intervals of rapid environmental change associated with hyperthermals. To understand the role of these environments during hyperthermals, we herein investigate the Permian–Triassic environmental crisis, which led to the most severe mass extinction event in the Phanerozoic. Our analysis of siliciclastic deposits from the Boreal Ocean from Lusitaniadalen, Svalbard, reveals a distinct increase of the lipid biomarkers C 33 ‐ n ‐alkylcyclohexane (C 33 ‐ n ‐ACH) and phytanyl toluene following the extinction event. This increase does not appear to reflect facies changes. Rather, it coincides with the extinction horizon, and persists into the lowermost Triassic (Griesbachian). Our findings suggest that neither C 33 ‐ n ‐ACH nor phytanyl toluene are linked to short periods of photic zone euxinia recorded at Lusitaniadalen, but rather are derived from a specific group of phytoplankton. This indicates that higher‐latitude ecosystems may have supported regional blooms of unknown primary producers after the Permian–Triassic mass extinction, thus explaining the selective survival of some marine organisms. We also identify (albeit in lower abundance) C 33 ‐ n ‐ACH and its pseudohomologs in northern Italy, which is the first report of n ‐ACHs in the tropical Tethys region across the Permian–Triassic transition outside of South China, highlighting the wide paleogeographic distribution of this biomarker. Phytanyl toluene, however, is found exclusively in deposits recording higher‐latitude ecosystems, and is likely linked to organisms occupying a similar ecological niche as the source organism of C 33 ‐ n ‐ACH in these settings.
“LOCALITY 84”, A NEW CRETACEOUS KONSERVAT-LAGERSTÄTTE IN THE JULIAN PREALPS (NE ITALY) FABIO M. DALLA VECCHIA, JACOPO AMALFITANO, EVELYN KUSTATSCHER, LUCA SIMONETTO Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2025 “Locality 84” is a new Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Friuli Carbonate Platform (NE Italy) preserving articulated fish skeletons and plant fossils. The fossil assemblage was collected in a carbonate olistolith of one of the megabeds characterising the upper Palaeocene-lower Eocene Grivò Flysch Formation in the Julian Prealps. Fish remains are dominant, but plant fossils form one third of the assemblage. The Late Cretaceous age of the “locality 84” olistolith is supported by the presence of the conifer Frenelopsis along with a plant fossil assemblage dominated by angiosperm leaves, by the rarity of acanthomorph teleosts represented by primitive forms and by the presence of pycnodontine pycnodontiforms. Further evidence (e.g., the affinity of some angiosperm leaves) suggests a Campanian-Maastrichtian age. The fossil assemblage differs from other similar fossil assemblages from the Cretaceous of the Friuli Carbonate Platform due to the extreme rarity of both shelled and non-shelled invertebrates, rarity of conifer shoots, a dominance of pycnodontiforms and basal non-acanthomorph teleosts (elopiforms, gonorhynchiforms, pachyrhizodontoids and putative albuliforms) in the ichthyofauna, with few acanthomorphs, no clupeomorphs, and no needlefish-like aulopiforms and chondrichthyans. The environment of deposition of the sediments containing the fossils may be a tidal flat or a restricted water body in the inner part of the Friuli Carbonate Platform but with a connection to the open sea.
Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 2: How to measure and analyse past plant biodiversity Heather S. Pardoe, Christopher J. Cleal, Christopher M. Berry, Borja Cascales-Miñana, Basil A.S. Davis, Jose B. Diez, Mariana V. Filipova-Marinova, Thomas Giesecke, Jason Hilton, Dimiter Ivanov, Evelyn Kustatscher, Suzanne A.G. Leroy, Jennifer C. McElwain, Stanislav Opluštil, Mihai Emilian Popa, Leyla J. Seyfullah, Ellen Stolle, Barry A. Thomas, Dieter Uhl Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 2021
Editorial: Permian Extinctions Robert A. Gastaldo, Yukio Isozaki, Evelyn Kustatscher, Robert Reisz, ShuZhong Shen Frontiers in Earth Science, 2021
Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 1: How well can we identify past plant diversity in the fossil record? Christopher Cleal, Heather S. Pardoe, Christopher M. Berry, Borja Cascales-Miñana, Basil A.S. Davis, Jose B. Diez, Mariana V. Filipova-Marinova, Thomas Giesecke, Jason Hilton, Dimiter Ivanov, Evelyn Kustatscher, Suzanne A.G. Leroy, Jennifer C. McElwain, Stanislav Opluštil, Mihai Emilian Popa, Leyla J. Seyfullah, Ellen Stolle, Barry A. Thomas, Dieter Uhl Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 2021
Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic) Jacopo Dal Corso, Massimo Bernardi, Yadong Sun, Haijun Song, Leyla J. Seyfullah, Nereo Preto, Piero Gianolla, Alastair Ruffell, Evelyn Kustatscher, Guido Roghi, Agostino Merico, Sönke Hohn, Alexander R. Schmidt, Andrea Marzoli, Robert J. Newton, Paul B. Wignall, Michael J. Benton Science Advances, 2020
A putative juvenile specimen of eusaurosphargis dalsassoi from the anisian (middle triassic) of piz da peres (dolomites, northern italy) Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2020
Microalgae from the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert: A new Cymatiosphaera Zitteliana Reihe A Mitteilungen Der Bayerischen Staatssammlung Fur Palaontologie Und Geologie, 2014
Wildfires in the Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic of the Southern Alps - The Late Permian of the Bletterbach-Butterloch area (Northern Italy) Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2012
Scytophyllum waehneri (Stur) nov. comb., the correct name for Scytophyllum perslcum (Schenk) Kilpper, 1975 Zitteliana Reihe A Mitteilungen Der Bayerischen Staatssammlung Fur Palaontologie Und Geologie, 2011
The ladinian flora from the cassina beds (Meride Limestone, Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland): Preliminary results Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2010
Middle Triassic terrestrial macrofloras of the Dolomites and their biostratigraphic and palaeoclimatic framework by means of palynomorphs Acta Naturalia De L Ateneo Parmense, 2004
The anisian macroflora from the northern Dolomites (Monte Prà della Vacca/Kühwiesenkopf, Braies): A first report Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2002
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
An unpredictable body size response to the Permo-Triassic climate crisis WJ Foster, H Prinoth, E Kustatscher, M Hautmann Biogeosciences 23 (3), 1181-1198 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
An exceptional plant mesofossil assemblage from the Kungurian (early Permian) locality of Gorl (Southern Alps, northern Italy) M Delfosse-Allain, R Branz, IR Barreiro, E Kustatscher Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 105499 , 2026 2026
Plants in the shadows: Bridging the gap in paleoecology and paleoart J Carrión, G Amorós, A Amorós, MA Gandolfo, E Kustatscher Earth-Science Reviews, 105371 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Open Scientific Collections Austria (OSCA)—from concept to workflows F Korth, H Rainer, CD Bara, N Begic, N Bses, P Bilovitz, C Bräuchler, ... Natural History Collections and Museomics 2, 1-21 , 2025 2025
Phytoplankton blooms on the Barents Shelf, Svalbard, associated with the Permian–Triassic mass extinction SZ Buchwald, D Birgel, K Senger, T Mosociova, Y Pei, V Zuchuat, ... AGU Advances 6 (5), e2025AV001785 , 2025 2025 Citations: 7
Middle Jurassic plant fossils from the East Gobi Basin (Mongolia) A Muraviev, J Kvaček, L Uranbileg, D Otgonsuren, J Dashkhorol, ... Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 340, 105371 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
An unpredictable body size response to the Permo–Triassic climate crisis WJ Foster, H Prinoth, E Kustatscher, M Hautmann EGUsphere 2025, 1-27 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
New insights into the extinction and recovery of marine vertebrates across the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event in the Dolomites, Southern Alps, Italy B Karapunar, AS Wolniewicz, C Romano, P Ozsvárt, H Rochín-Bañaga, ... bioRxiv, 2025.08. 23.671916 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Reassessment of the chronostratigraphic and paleogeographic distribution of the Permian prepollen genus Nuskoisporites IR Barreiro, JB Diez, A Fijałkowska-Mader, E Schneebeli-Hermann, ... Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 105425 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
New palynostratigraphic data from the Kungurian (Cisuralian) Guncina Formation, Athesian District (Southern Alps, northern Italy) with regional-global correlation A Spina, L Marchetti, JB Diez, E Capezzuoli, H Saleh, IR Barreiro, ... Journal of Iberian Geology, 1-25 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
“LOCALITY 84”, A NEW CRETACEOUS KONSERVAT-LAGERSTÄTTE IN THE JULIAN PREALPS (NE ITALY) FM Dalla Vecchia, J Amalfitano, E Kustatscher, L Simonetto Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 131 (2) , 2025 2025
Primary productivity blooms on the Barents Shelf, Svalbard, associated with the Permian–Triassic mass extinction SZ Buchwald, D Birgel, K Senger, T Mosociova, Y Pei, AB Frank, ... Authorea Preprints , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Oxic conditions in shallow marine settings during the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction AB Frank, E Warncke-Rüting, S Grasby, E Kustatscher, H Prinoth, ... EarthArXiv , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Can habitat disturbance promote biodiversity? Disturbance ecology of an alluvial fan deposited in the caldera of the Bolzano supervolcano (Gocciadoro: Trento, Italy) A Baucon, S Trümper, C Morelli, CN de Carvalho, E Kustatscher Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 664, 112785 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Assessing the role of anoxia as an extinction driver in shallow marine basins during the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. A Frank, S Grasby, S Buchwald, MA Gomez Correa, B Karapunar, ... EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, EGU25-16641 , 2025 2025
Insights into thermal stress during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction using ostracods from the Southern Alps (Italy) MA Gómez Correa, A Frank, M Wiedenbeck, J Gliwa, D Korn, H Prinoth, ... EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, EGU25-13354 , 2025 2025
Comparison between plant fossil assemblages and simulated biomes across the Permian-Triassic Boundary C Ragon, C Vérard, J Kasparian, H Nowak, E Kustatscher, M Brunetti Frontiers in Earth Science 13, 1520846 , 2025 2025
The Middle Triassic Flora of the Tanga Basin, Tanzania RA Sabuni, E Kustatscher Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 334, 105275 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Ehrungen der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft–Geologische Vereinigung (DGGV) 2024 H Bahlburg, J Kley, O Alisch, J Kolb, E Kustatscher, JW Schneider Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften, 529-534 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Early Permian post-collisional magmatism induced by extensive removal of the Variscan lithospheric mantle A Boscaini, JHFL Davies, MG Perrot, R Sassi, C Mazzoli, A De Min, ... Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 180 (2), 10 , 2025 2025 Citations: 9
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Triassic climates—state of the art and perspectives N Preto, E Kustatscher, PB Wignall Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 290 (1-4), 1-10 , 2010 2010 Citations: 486
Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic) J Dal Corso, M Bernardi, Y Sun, H Song, LJ Seyfullah, N Preto, P Gianolla, ... Science Advances 6 (38), eaba0099 , 2020 2020 Citations: 250
Flora of the late Triassic E Kustatscher, SR Ash, E Karasev, C Pott, V Vajda, J Yu, S McLoughlin The Late Triassic World: earth in a time of transition, 545-622 , 2017 2017 Citations: 152
No mass extinction for land plants at the Permian–Triassic transition H Nowak, E Schneebeli-Hermann, E Kustatscher Nature Communications 10 (1), 384 , 2019 2019 Citations: 141
Macrofloras and palynomorphs as possible proxies for palaeoclimatic and palaeoecological studies: A case study from the Pelsonian (Middle Triassic) of Kühwiesenkopf/Monte Prà … E Kustatscher, JHA van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, G Roghi Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 290 (1-4), 71-80 , 2010 2010 Citations: 137
Late Permian (Lopingian) terrestrial ecosystems: a global comparison with new data from the low-latitude Bletterbach Biota M Bernardi, FM Petti, E Kustatscher, M Franz, C Hartkopf-Fröder, ... Earth-Science Reviews 175, 18-43 , 2017 2017 Citations: 111
The Artinskian Warming Event: an Euramerican change in climate and the terrestrial biota during the early Permian L Marchetti, G Forte, E Kustatscher, WA DiMichele, SG Lucas, G Roghi, ... Earth-Science Reviews 226, 103922 , 2022 2022 Citations: 79
Floral assemblages and patterns of insect herbivory during the Permian to Triassic of Northeastern Italy CC Labandeira, E Kustatscher, T Wappler PLoS One 11 (11), e0165205 , 2016 2016 Citations: 78
Horsetails and seed ferns from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) locality Kühwiesenkopf (Monte Prá della Vacca), dolomites, northern Italy E Kustatscher, M Wachtler, JHA VAN KONIJNENBURG‐VAN CITTERT Palaeontology 50 (5), 1277-1298 , 2007 2007 Citations: 64
The Ladinian Flora (Middle Triassic) of the Dolomites: palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and palaeoclimatic considerations E Kustatscher, JHA Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert Geo. Alp 2, 31-51 , 2005 2005 Citations: 64
Taphonomical implications of the Ladinian megaflora and palynoflora of Thale (Germany) E Kustatscher, C Heunisch, JHA Van Konijnenburg-Van Cittert Palaios 27 (11), 753-764 , 2012 2012 Citations: 62
Eustatic and climatic control on the Upper Muschelkalk Sea (late Anisian/Ladinian) in the Central European Basin M Franz, SI Kaiser, J Fischer, C Heunisch, E Kustatscher, FW Luppold, ... Global and Planetary Change 135, 1-27 , 2015 2015 Citations: 58
Sphenophytes, pteridosperms and possible cycads from the Wuchiapingian (Lopingian, Permian) of Bletterbach (Dolomites, northern Italy) E Kustatscher, K Bauer, R Butzmann, TC Fischer, B Meller, ... Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 208, 65-82 , 2014 2014 Citations: 55
Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 1: How well can we identify past plant diversity in the fossil record? C Cleal, HS Pardoe, CM Berry, B Cascales-Miñana, BAS Davis, JB Diez, ... Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 576, 110481 , 2021 2021 Citations: 52
The anisian Macroflora from the Northern Dolomites Pra della Vacca/Kuhwiesenkopf, Braies); a first report C Broglio Loriga, A Fugagnoli, J Van Konjienburg-Van Cittert, ... Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 108 (3), 381-381 , 2002 2002 Citations: 52
Carbon-isotope variability of Triassic amber, as compared with wood and leaves (Southern Alps, Italy) J Dal Corso, N Preto, E Kustatscher, P Mietto, G Roghi, HC Jenkyns Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 302 (3-4), 187-193 , 2011 2011 Citations: 51
Lycophytes from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) locality Kühwiesenkopf (Monte Prà della Vacca) in the Dolomites (Northern Italy) E Kustatscher, M Wachtler, JHA VAN KONIJNENBURG‐VAN CITTERT Palaeontology 53 (3), 595-626 , 2010 2010 Citations: 50
Reconstruction of a late Cisuralian (Early Permian) floodplain lake environment: palaeontology and sedimentology of the Tregiovo Basin (Trentino-Alto Adige, Northern Italy) L Marchetti, G Forte, M Bernardi, T Wappler, C Hartkopf-Fröder, K Krainer, ... Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 440, 180-200 , 2015 2015 Citations: 49
Plant–insect interactions from Middle Triassic (late Ladinian) of Monte Agnello (Dolomites, N-Italy)—Initial pattern and response to abiotic environmental perturbations T Wappler, E Kustatscher, E Dellantonio PeerJ 3, e921 , 2015 2015 Citations: 48
A number of additional and revised taxa from the Ladinian flora of the Dolomites, Northern Italy E Kustatscher, M Wachtler, JHA Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert Geo. Alp 1, 57-69 , 2004 2004 Citations: 46
