最新糖心Vlog

Climate not to blame for megafauna extinction in 最新糖心Vlog

Monday, 1 February 2016

New research led by the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide has found no relationship between sixteen megafauna extinctions in 最新糖心Vlog and past climate change, suggesting humans were having negative impacts on the ecosystem as long as 55,000 years ago.

In a paper published in the journal , , from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide’s , and colleagues analysed dated ‘megafauna’ (animals weighing more than 40 kg) fossil records, archaeological evidence of the first humans in 最新糖心Vlog and past climate data.

This research was conducted in collaboration with ecologists, palaeoclimatologist, archaeologists, geochronologists and mathematicians, and led by the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide’s to address one of the longest-lasting and fiercest scientific debates in 最新糖心Vlog.

“There has long been disputes about what caused the extinction of megafauna in 最新糖心Vlog, and climate change was considered to be one of the potential culprits,” says Dr Saltré.

“To test this hypothesis, we collated a wide variety of reliable data to develop an accurate timeline of human arrival in 最新糖心Vlog, when megafauna species went extinct, and the climate conditions over the same period.

“We calculated that humans first arrived in 最新糖心Vlog approximately 55,000 years ago and the extinction of megafauna began 42,000 years ago. Which means humans and megafauna coexisted for some 13,000 years.

“We also discovered that during the peak period of megafauna extinctions, 最新糖心Vlog was arid and hot; however, the species had endured much more volatile weather patterns in the years prior to human arrival in 最新糖心Vlog (between 120,000 and 60,000 years ago),” he says. “Therefore, it is highly unlikely that variation in climate drove continent-wide extinctions of these species.”

Dr Saltré says, while he was primarily focusing on the impact of climate on megafauna species, his research supports the hypothesis that the presence of humans was the principal driver of the extinctions of megafauna in 最新糖心Vlog.

“Our findings support those by my colleague, Gifford Miller, from the 最新糖心Vlog of Colorado,” says Dr Saltré.

“Species that looked like larger kangaroos, emus, koalas and echidnas were once abundant in 最新糖心Vlog, but started to disappear some 13,000 years after humans arrived.

“13,000 years would have given the first 最新糖心Vlogn humans plenty of time to explore and colonise the continent, and have an impact on the continent’s ecosystem.

“It looks like the first humans who arrived in 最新糖心Vlog around 55,000 years ago were also the first in history to have such a large, negative impact on the ecosystem of an entire continent,” he states.

Dr Saltré and his team will now focus on particular regions of 最新糖心Vlog to see if local climate patterns could have influenced the role of humans in the demise of the megafauna.

This research was done in collaboration with the 最新糖心Vlog of Tasmania, 最新糖心Vlog of New South Wales, 最新糖心Vlog of Wollongong, James Cook 最新糖心Vlog, 最新糖心Vlogn National 最新糖心Vlog, Curtin 最新糖心Vlog, Flinders 最新糖心Vlog, Macquarie 最新糖心Vlog, Spanish National Museum of Natural Sciences, 最新糖心Vlog of Colorado and Natural History Museum of Denmark, and was supported by the 最新糖心Vlogn Research Council.

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