Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation.

Metcalf, JL; Turney, C; Barnett, R; Martin, F; Bray, SC; Vilstrup, JT; Orlando, L; Salas-Gismondi, R; Loponte, D; Medina, M; De Nigris, M; Civalero, T; Fernández, PM; Gasco, A; Duran, V; Seymour, KL; Otaola, C; Gil, A; Paunero, R; Prevosti, FJ; Bradshaw, CJA; Wheeler, JC; Borrero, L; Austin, JJ; Cooper, A

Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation.

Metcalf, JL Turney, C

Barnett, R Martin, F Bray, SC Vilstrup, JT Orlando, L Salas-Gismondi, R Loponte, D Medina, M De Nigris, M Civalero, T Fernández, PM Gasco, A Duran, V Seymour, KL Otaola, C Gil, A Paunero, R Prevosti, FJ Bradshaw, CJA Wheeler, JC Borrero, L Austin, JJ Cooper, A

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Publisher:: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sci Adv, 2016, 2, (6), pp. e1501682
Issue Date:: 2016-06

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Metcalf, JL
dc.contributor.author	Turney, C https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6733-0993
dc.contributor.author	Barnett, R
dc.contributor.author	Martin, F
dc.contributor.author	Bray, SC
dc.contributor.author	Vilstrup, JT
dc.contributor.author	Orlando, L
dc.contributor.author	Salas-Gismondi, R
dc.contributor.author	Loponte, D
dc.contributor.author	Medina, M
dc.contributor.author	De Nigris, M
dc.contributor.author	Civalero, T
dc.contributor.author	Fernández, PM
dc.contributor.author	Gasco, A
dc.contributor.author	Duran, V
dc.contributor.author	Seymour, KL
dc.contributor.author	Otaola, C
dc.contributor.author	Gil, A
dc.contributor.author	Paunero, R
dc.contributor.author	Prevosti, FJ
dc.contributor.author	Bradshaw, CJA
dc.contributor.author	Wheeler, JC
dc.contributor.author	Borrero, L
dc.contributor.author	Austin, JJ
dc.contributor.author	Cooper, A
dc.date.accessioned	2022-08-16T06:36:56Z
dc.date.available	2016-05-27
dc.date.available	2022-08-16T06:36:56Z
dc.date.issued	2016-06
dc.identifier.citation	Sci Adv, 2016, 2, (6), pp. e1501682
dc.identifier.issn	2375-2548
dc.identifier.issn	2375-2548
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/160355
dc.description.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 time frame (~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. We identify a narrow megafaunal 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 Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South 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.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FL100100195
dc.relation.ispartof	Sci Adv
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1126/sciadv.1501682
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Bone and Bones
dc.subject.mesh	Camelidae
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	DNA, Mitochondrial
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Felidae
dc.subject.mesh	Human Activities
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Ice Cover
dc.subject.mesh	Radiometric Dating
dc.subject.mesh	Sequence Analysis, DNA
dc.subject.mesh	South America
dc.subject.mesh	Ursidae
dc.subject.mesh	Bone and Bones
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Felidae
dc.subject.mesh	Ursidae
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	DNA, Mitochondrial
dc.subject.mesh	Sequence Analysis, DNA
dc.subject.mesh	Ice Cover
dc.subject.mesh	Human Activities
dc.subject.mesh	South America
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Radiometric Dating
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Camelidae
dc.title	Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2
utslib.location.activity	United States
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-08-16T06:36:55Z
pubs.issue	6
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	2
utslib.citation.issue	6

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 time frame (~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. We identify a narrow megafaunal 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 Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South 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.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/160355