Godfrey, LR;
Crowley, BE;
Muldoon, KM;
Burns, SJ;
Scroxton, N;
Klukkert, ZS;
Ranivoharimanana, L;
... Widmann, P; + view all
(2021)
Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar's Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
, 9
, Article 742203. 10.3389/fevo.2021.742203.
Preview |
Text
Hansford_fevo-09-742203.pdf Download (9MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Madagascar experienced a major faunal turnover near the end of the first millenium CE that particularly affected terrestrial, large-bodied vertebrate species. Teasing apart the relative impacts of people and climate on this event requires a focus on regional records with good chronological control. These records may document coeval changes in rainfall, faunal composition, and human activities. Here we present new paleontological and paleoclimatological data from southwestern Madagascar, the driest part of the island today. We collected over 1500 subfossil bones from deposits at a coastal site called Antsirafaly and from both flooded and dry cave deposits at Tsimanampesotse National Park. We built a chronology of Late Holocene changes in faunal assemblages based on 65 radiocarbon-dated specimens and subfossil associations. We collected stalagmites primarily within Tsimanampesotse but also at two additional locations in southern Madagascar. These provided information regarding hydroclimate variability over the past 120,000 years. Prior research has supported a primary role for drought (rather than humans) in triggering faunal turnover at Tsimanampesotse. This is based on evidence of: (1) a large freshwater ecosystem west of what is now the hypersaline Lake Tsimanampesotse, which supported freshwater mollusks and waterfowl (including animals that could not survive on resources offered by the hypersaline lake today); (2) abundant now-extinct terrestrial vertebrates; (3) regional decline or disappearance of certain tree species; and (4) scant local human presence. Our new data allow us to document the hydroclimate of the subarid southwest during the Holocene, as well as shifts in faunal composition (including local extirpations, large-vertebrate population collapse, and the appearance of introduced species). These records affirm that climate alone cannot have produced the observed vertebrate turnover in the southwest. Human activity, including the introduction of cattle, as well as associated changes in habitat exploitation, also played an important role.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar's Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fevo.2021.742203 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.742203 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2021 Godfrey, Crowley, Muldoon, Burns, Scroxton, Klukkert, Ranivoharimanana, Alumbaugh, Borths, Dart, Faina, Goodman, Gutierrez, Hansford, Hekkala, Kinsley, Lehman, Lewis, McGee, Pérez, Rahantaharivao, Rakotoarijaona, Rasolonjatovo, Samonds, Turvey, Vasey and Widmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
| Keywords: | megafaunal collapse, climate change, human impacts, southwest Madagascar, Late Holocene |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133398 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
