Title
Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation
Date Issued
01 June 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Metcalf J.L.
Turney C.
Barnett R.
Martin F.
Bray S.C.
Vilstrup J.T.
Orlando L.
Loponte D.
Medina M.
De Nigris M.
Civalero T.
Fernández P.M.
Gasco A.
Duran V.
Seymour K.L.
Otaola C.
Gil A.
Paunero R.
Prevosti F.J.
Bradshaw C.J.A.
Borrero L.
Austin J.J.
Cooper A.
Publisher(s)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abstract
The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60, 000 to 11, 650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow timeframe (∼15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region.Weidentify anarrowmegafaunal extinction phase 12, 280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonianmaterial reveals that the sequence of climate andextinctionevents inNorthandSouth America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.
Volume
2
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia veterinaria
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85009272135
PubMed ID
Source
Science Advances
ISSN of the container
23752548
Sponsor(s)
Australian Research Council / DP0664562
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus