Fossils reject climate change as the cause of extinction of Caribbean bats

Soto‐Centeno, J. Angel; Steadman, David W.

doi:10.1038/srep07971

Cited by 56 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…These may have included sloths during the Archaic, whose extinctions seem independent of climatic changes, but not human arrival (Steadman et al 2005). Other signs of human impacts involved the extinction or extirpation of reptile, mammal and bird species (Soto-Centeno & Steadman 2015;. Several Ceramic Age archaeological assemblages show an early emphasis on, and then major decline of, rice rats (family: Cricetidae) and land crabs, with a commensurate increase in mollusc species (Newsom & Wing 2004: 100, 102-104), suggesting overexploitation of terrestrial fauna and a move towards heavier reliance on marine foods.…”

Section: Caribbean Islands In Fluxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeology, historical ecology and anthropogenic island ecosystems

et al. 2017

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SUMMARYIn the face of environmental uncertainty due to anthropogenic climate change, islands are at the front lines of global change, threatened by sea level rise, habitat alteration, extinctions and declining biodiversity. Islands also stand at the forefront of scientific study for understanding the deep history of human ecodynamics and to build sustainable future systems. We summarize the long history of human interactions with Polynesian, Mediterranean, Californian and Caribbean island ecosystems, documenting the effects of various waves of human settlement and socioeconomic systems, from hunter-gatherer-fishers, to agriculturalists, to globalized colonial interests. We identify degradation of island environments resulting from human activities, as well as cases of human management of resources to enhance productivity and create more sustainable systems. These case studies suggest that within a general global pattern of progressive island degradation, there was no single trajectory of human impact, but rather complex effects based on variable island physiographies, human subsistence strategies, population densities, technologies, sociopolitical organization and decision-making.

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Section: Caribbean Islands In Fluxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeology, historical ecology and anthropogenic island ecosystems

et al. 2017

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“…Changes in island area due to rising sea level and concomitant changes in cave availability due to flooding and loss of roosting habitats after the PHT have been proposed to explain Caribbean bat extinctions (Morgan, 2001;Dávalos and Russell, 2012). However, recent evidence from radiocarbon chronology has indicated that many bat fossils in the Caribbean are younger than previously thought, and that many species of bat survived the PHT by 5-7 ky (Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015). Furthermore, evidence from time-scaled ecological niche models (ENM) covering the LGM to the present have revealed that climate-based distributions for the bats Monophyllus redmani, Macrotus waterhousii, and Pteronotus parnellii remained largely stable over time (Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…However, recent evidence from radiocarbon chronology has indicated that many bat fossils in the Caribbean are younger than previously thought, and that many species of bat survived the PHT by 5-7 ky (Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015). Furthermore, evidence from time-scaled ecological niche models (ENM) covering the LGM to the present have revealed that climate-based distributions for the bats Monophyllus redmani, Macrotus waterhousii, and Pteronotus parnellii remained largely stable over time (Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015). This evidence from fossils and ENMs suggests that some species of bats were able to maintain viable populations until the late Holocene despite habitat loss due to rising sea level after the PHT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Importance of Late Quaternary Climate Change and Karst on Distributions of Caribbean Mormoopid Bats

Soto‐Centeno

O'Brien

Simmons

2015

American Museum Novitates

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The bat family Mormoopidae includes three species with distributions in the Caribbean. These taxa-Mormoops blainvillei, Pteronotus parnellii, and P. quadridens-roost predominantly in hot cave chambers where temperatures may reach 40° C and humidity is close to 100%. We tested the hypothesis that mormoopid bat extirpations in this region were due to climatic changes and the loss of suitable cave environments due to flooding caused by sea level rise associated with the late Pleistocene to Holocene (ca. 10 ka) climate change transition. Ecological niche models (ENMs) were developed to estimate the current, mid-Holocene, and Last Glacial Maximum distributions of these three bat species and to assess whether suitable climatic habitat for these taxa had been stable across time in the Caribbean. Additionally, we examined the importance of karst formations (where hot caves typically form) as a predictor for the distributions of Caribbean mormoopid bats. Our results show that mormoopid bat distributions in the Caribbean have remained relatively stable over time with climate ENMs indicating up to a 19% expansion in the amount of suitable habitat from late Pleistocene to the present. Presence of karst was a good predictor when used alone or when combined as karst-climate ENMs. Fossil evidence shows that some populations of mormoopids became extirpated as recently as 3.6 ka. These data, taken together with our conclusion that suitable climate habitat for mormoopid bats existed in the Caribbean beyond late Pleistocene to Holocene transition, suggest that these bats may have survived this climate change event by roosting outside their characteristic hot cave environment.

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“…This area is also known for its eventful history of human colonization, which is responsible for several extinctions during the past centuries (Brace et al, 2015;Kemp and Hadly, 2015;Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015;Steadman et al, 2015). On account of these phenomena, investigating the history of many regional taxa is a complex task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new fossil species ofBoaLinnaeus, 1758 (Squamata, Boidae), from the Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island (French West Indies)

Bochaton

Bailón

2018

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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ABSTRACT-Several studies have reported the occurrence of fossil remains of a now extinct Boa snake from the upper Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island, French West Indies. However, these remains have never been fully investigated and no complete description of this possible new species has been published. In this paper, we try to bridge this gap by providing a detailed morphological study of the Boa remains discovered in the three major fossil deposits of Marie-Galante Island. Our study reveals the specific morphological aspects of this fossil snake and allows us to identify it as a new species, Boa blanchardensis. We also reconstructed its body size, carried out a paleohistological investigation, and suggest that this snake may have been a dwarf species. We then discuss the possible explanation for the extinction of this snake on Marie-Galante Island and possibly also on other Guadeloupe islands.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank

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Fossils reject climate change as the cause of extinction of Caribbean bats

Cited by 56 publications

References 66 publications

Archaeology, historical ecology and anthropogenic island ecosystems

Archaeology, historical ecology and anthropogenic island ecosystems

The Importance of Late Quaternary Climate Change and Karst on Distributions of Caribbean Mormoopid Bats

A new fossil species ofBoaLinnaeus, 1758 (Squamata, Boidae), from the Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island (French West Indies)

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