Megafaunal extinctions The end of the Pleistocene was marked by the extinction of many genera of large mammals, including mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, and giant beavers. The extinction event is most distinct in North America, where 32 genera of large mammals vanished during an interval of about 2,000 years, centred on 11,000 bp. Large herbivores and carnivores (the megafauna) have been in a state of decline and extinction since the Late Pleistocene, both on land and more recently in the oceans. Much has been written on the timing and causes of these declines, but only recently has scientific attention focused on the consequences of these declines for ecosystem function.
21.JPG (1600×1011) Ancient animals, Extinct animals, Megafauna
The Late Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene saw numerous extinctions of predominantly megafaunal (large) animal species (the Pleistocene megafauna ), which resulted in a collapse in faunal density and diversity across the globe. [1] The worldwide extinction of megafauna during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene is evident from the fossil record, with dominant theories suggesting a climate, human or combined impact. The cause of the extinction of giant birds, reptiles, and mammals in the late Pleistocene is, for palaeobiology, what Fermat's last theorem was for mathematics ( ): a long-standing scientific puzzle that has captured the imagination of specialists and nonspecialists alike ( ). Pleistocene Megafauna in Beringia By Pamela Groves, University of Alaska An artist's interpretation of ice age fauna. Image courtesy of Mauricio Antón At the peak of the last ice age, 20,000 years ago, when most of northern North America was covered by massive glaciers, much of Alaska was ice-free and home to a diverse assortment of large mammals.
Fauna of the Pleistocene by Mauricio Antón Prehistoric Wildlife
The disappearance of many North American megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene is a contentious topic. While the proposed causes for megafaunal extinction are varied, most researchers fall into. Although a residual extant megafauna did survive the Pleistocene extinction event (e.g., red kangaroo, bison, Asian elephant, llama, etc.), the only continent on Earth where a diverse assemblage of megafauna remains is Africa, which is also where mod- ern humans arose. 34 Citations 104 Altmetric Metrics Abstract Large-scale changes in global climate at the end of the Pleistocene significantly impacted ecosystems across North America. In North America, Pleistocene-Holocene deglaciation [18 to 6 thousand years ago (ka); 1 ka = 1000 calendar years ago] was marked by massive biotic upheaval, including the extinction of 34 megafaunal genera (), species migration and reorganization of terrestrial communities (), the rise and decline of plant communities without modern analogs (), and increased biomass burning ().
Megafauna and ecosystem function from the Pleistocene to the
Pleistocene Era Extinctions . Before early modern humans left Africa to colonize the rest of the world, all of the continents were already populated by a large and diverse animal population, including our hominid cousins, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo erectus.Animals with body weights greater than 100 pounds (45 kilograms), called megafauna, were abundant. Abstract. Giant vertebrates dominated many Pleistocene ecosystems. Many were herbivores, and their sudden extinction in prehistory could have had large ecological impacts. We used a high-resolution 130,000-year environmental record to help resolve the cause and reconstruct the ecological consequences of extinction of Australia's megafauna.
Large herbivores and carnivores (the megafauna) have been in a state of decline and extinction since the Late Pleistocene, both on land and more recently in the oceans. Much has been written on the timing and causes of these declines, but only recently has scientific attention focused on the consequences of these declines for ecosystem function. Flora e megafauna del Pleistocene inferiore nella Spagna settentrionale - illustrazione di Mauricio Antón: mammut, leoni che mangiano una renna, cavalli selvatici e un rinoceronte lanoso. La megafauna del Pleistocene è il termine collettivo utilizzato per indicare gli animali di grandi dimensioni (la cosiddetta megafauna) diffusi sulla Terra.
The Dragon's Tales New Evidence in the Australian Pleistocene
Megafauna strongly influence vegetation structure, and population declines can alter ecosystem functioning. Overhunting of grazing megafauna is argued to have driven the collapse of widespread, northern steppe-tundra and its replacement by woody vegetation at the end of the ice age. Individual examples of faunal turnover and extinctions of large marine vertebrates (collectively known as 'marine megafauna', which includes, but is not limited to marine mammals, seabirds,.
