FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul

Peters, Katharina J.; Saltré, Frédérik; Friedrich, Tobias; Jacobs, Zenobia; Wood, Rachel; McDowell, Matthew C.; Ulm, Sean; Bradshaw, Corey J. A.

doi:10.1038/s41597-019-0267-3

Cited by 22 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is, as yet, no fossil evidence of any Petrogale spp. inhabiting Tasmania during the Late Quaternary [ 56 ]. Moving a species, due to conservation concerns, into an area it has never occupied before is termed an ‘assisted migration’ (or assisted colonization [ 6 ]), and is viewed as the riskiest of translocation procedures, due primarily to the unknown ecological consequences that might be triggered [ 57 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roughing it: terrain is crucial in identifying novel translocation sites for the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale pencillata)

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Translocations—the movement of species from one place to another—are likely to become more common as conservation attempts to protect small isolated populations from threats posed by extreme events such as bushfires. The recent Australian mega-fires burnt almost 40% of the habitat of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby ( Petrogale pencillata ), a threatened species whose distribution is already restricted, primarily due to predation by invasive species. This chronic threat of over-predation, coupled with the possible extinction of the genetically distinct southern population (approx. 40 individuals in the wild), makes this species a candidate for a conservation translocation. Here, we use species distribution models to identify translocation sites for the brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Our models exhibited high predictive accuracy, and show that terrain roughness, a surrogate for predator refugia, is the most important variable. Tasmania, which currently has no rock-wallabies, showed high suitability and is fox-free, making it a promising candidate site. We outline our argument for the trial translocation of rock-wallaby to Maria Island, located off Tasmania's eastern coast. This research offers a transparent assessment of the translocation potential of a threatened species, which can be adapted to other taxa and systems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roughing it: terrain is crucial in identifying novel translocation sites for the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale pencillata)

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Relationship between estimated date of species extinction (across entire continent) based on a jack-knifed GRIWM approach (Bradshaw et al 2012;Saltré et al 2015) and (a) body mass (kg) or (b) generation length (years) (Scenario LH). Extinction-timing windows are estimated based on the agreement among six different models that correct for the Signor-Lipps effect (described in Methods) in chronologies of quality-rated (Rodríguez-Rey et al 2015) fossil dates for the studied taxa described in Peters et al (2019). Here, we have depicted Sarcophilus as 'extant', even though it went extinct on the mainland > 3000 years ago.…”

Section: Competing Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna

Bradshaw

Johnson

Llewelyn

et al. 2021

eLife

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The causes of Sahul's megafauna extinctions remain uncertain, although several interacting factors were likely responsible. To examine the relative support for hypotheses regarding plausible ecological mechanisms underlying these extinctions, we constructed the first stochastic, age-structured models for 13 extinct megafauna species from five functional/taxonomic groups, as well as eight extant species within these groups for comparison. Perturbing specific demographic rates individually, we tested which species were more demographically susceptible to extinction, and then compared these relative sensitivities to the fossil-derived extinction chronology. Our models show that the macropodiformes were the least demographically susceptible to extinction, followed by carnivores, monotremes, vombatiform herbivores, and large birds. Five of the eight extant species were as or more susceptible than the extinct species. There was no clear relationship between extinction susceptibility and the extinction chronology for any perturbation scenario, while body mass and generation length explained much of the variation in relative risk. Our results reveal that the actual mechanisms leading to the observed extinction chronology were unlikely related to variation in demographic susceptibility per se, but were possibly driven instead by finer-scale variation in climate change and/or human prey choice and relative hunting success.

show abstract

“…As a first practical step, a large‐scale compilation of archaeological chronologies would benefit from (i) information on sites and artefacts (e.g., Anderson, 1990; Faught et al, 1994) and (ii) geological and sedimentary information (including palaeoenvironmental data) for context. A number of large data sets exist that do include contextual data, and they include data related to fossils (Peters et al, 2019), geological cosmogenic and luminescence data (Codilean et al, 2018), sea level (Hibbert et al, 2018) and palaeoclimate (AUS‐INTIMATE, SHAPE; Lorrey, 2016). The only archaeological database we are aware of that specifically includes contextual data is that of Bevan et al (2017).…”

Section: How To Improve the Use Of Spd And “Big Data” For Exploring Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary unknowns constrain the current use of frequency analysis of radiocarbon data sets in forming regional models of demographic change

Ward

Larcombe

2021

Geoarchaeology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Statistical manipulation of large radiometric data sets (big data) is increasingly applied to those grand challenges in archaeology that relate to past human‐behavioural dynamics and includes frequency analysis of radiocarbon ages (summed probability distributions [SPDs]). Australian SPD studies use the radiocarbon database “AustArch” to examine regional‐ and continental‐scale demographic change. We review Australian studies, focussing on sampling bias and taphonomic bias, finding that (i) time‐averaged radiometric data cannot simply be correlated across regions, and (ii) sedimentology imposes genuine constraints upon what can be known. Internationally, flaws in SPD use occur in all main research phases, and most importantly, at the initial phase of defining research questions, logic and general approach. Major problems stem from not planning to obtain a sound understanding of the variability of past sedimentary environments, potential occupation sites and site formation processes. Thus, cultural inferences are too often made from archaeological data without due consideration of the natural processes that may explain the data. Highlighting exemplar studies, we present practical approaches to improve SPD use for exploring changes in demography, aimed at reducing uncertainties and reconnecting archaeological, chronological, geological and sedimentary data. Most important is to increase understanding of physical processes and their control on the archaeological record.

show abstract

FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul

Cited by 22 publications

References 41 publications

Roughing it: terrain is crucial in identifying novel translocation sites for the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale pencillata)

Roughing it: terrain is crucial in identifying novel translocation sites for the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale pencillata)

Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna

Sedimentary unknowns constrain the current use of frequency analysis of radiocarbon data sets in forming regional models of demographic change

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About