Holocene mammal extinctions in the Carpathian Basin: a review

Abstract

1.Mammals are a key target group for conservation biology. Insights into the patterns and timing of and driving forces behind their past extinctions help us to understand their present, and to predict and mitigate their future biodiversity loss. Much research has been focused on the intensely debated megafaunal extinctions at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, whereas the Holocene mammal extinctions have remained less studied. 2.Here, we consider the Holocene extinctions of mammal taxa in the Carpathian Basin, a distinctive and biogeographically well-constrained predominantly lowland region in Central Europe. For the first time, we combine data from palaeontological, archaeozoological, and historical sources for a comprehensive analysis. 3. A total of 11 mammal species, including steppe-dwelling rodents, large carnivores and herbivores, disappeared from the Carpathian Basin during the Holocene. The extinctions are interpreted in the framework of changing habitats and ecosystems, as grasslands and open forests vanished at the westernmost limits of the Eurasian steppe. 4. The temporal distribution of extinctions is non-random; most taxon range terminations are concentrated around two discrete events. Members of the steppe community disappeared between 5000 and 4000 BP, around the Copper AgeBronze Age transition. Large herbivores that found refugia in the forests vanished later, between the 16th and 18th centuries AD. The steppe, forest-steppe ecosystems of the Carpathian Basin suffered a considerable loss in their mammalian fauna, which has significant implications for conservation efforts for the existing similar dry, open habitats in western Eurasia. 5. Further research and better age constraints are needed to establish the causes of extinctions more firmly, but the lack of synchronous and severe climate and vegetation changes and the coincidence with transformations in human history suggest the prime role of anthropogenic disturbance. We conclude that there were two waves of Holocene mammal extinctions of megafaunal character in the Carpathian Basin.

Biodiversity-rich European grasslands: Ancient, forgotten ecosystems

“…gmelini (Wild Horse) and Equus hemionus (Asiatic Wild Ass) became discontinuously present from the mid Holocene, i.e. 8000 cal yr BP and that many became extinct by 4000 cal yr BP (Németh et al, 2017;Bejenaru et al, 2018). In contrast, livestock numbers increased from 6500 cal yr BP (Schumacher et al, 2016).…”

“…gmelini (Eastern European Wild Horse), Asinus hydruntinus (European Wild Ass), Otis tarda (Great Bustard) and Vipera ursinii subsp. rakosiensis (Meadow Adder) were abundant during the early Holocene (Németh et al, 2017). They became discontinuously present from 8000 cal yr BP and several of these species disappeared between and cal yr BP at a time of increased anthropogenic pressure, but in a grassland landscape.…”

“…We know from palaeontological and archaeozoological records in the Carpathian Basin that several large herbivores i.e., Bison bonasus (European Bison), Alces alces (Eurasian Elk), Equus ferus subsp. gmelini (Wild Horse), Equus hemionus (Asiatic Wild Ass) and Dama dama (Eurasian Fallow Deer) became discontinuously present from the mid Holocene, i.e., 8000 cal yr BP and that many became extinct by 4000 cal yr BP (Németh et al, 2017;Bejenaru et al, 2018). In contrast, livestock numbers increased from 6500 cal yr BP (Schumacher et al, 2016).…”

Reviewing historical traditional knowledge for innovative conservation management: A re-evaluation of wetland grazing

“…145 500-800 mm (Kocsis, 2018). 146 During the Holocene, the area was mostly covered by floodplain vegetation, with forest-steppe 147 vegetation on loess and sand ridges, and inhabited in the early Holocene by native large herbivores 148 (Magyari et al, 2010;Németh et al, 2017). A substantial part of the wide expanses of wetland 149 consisted of floodplain oak forests and swamp forests, but extensive treeless wetlands may also have 150 existed (Magyari et al, 2010;Fehér, 2018).…”

Mindig útban? – Városias környezetben fennmaradt földikutya-állományok megőrzésének kihívásai Magyarországon

“…Az utóbbi évszázadok során a száraz, füves élőhelyek Európa-szerte drámai mértékben szorultak vissza (Bakker 1989, Poschlod & Bonn 1998. A Kárpát-medence sztyepp jellegű élőhelyei is a történelem előtti idők óta szenvednek az emberi tevékenység természeti környezetre gyakorolt hatásaitól (Németh et al 2017). Ez az érzékeny ökoszisztéma azonban nem csupán a távoli múltban szenvedett el komoly veszteségeket, a száraz füves élőhelyek a történelemi időkben, de különösen a legutóbbi száz év során mind jobban összezsugorodtak Magyarországon (Bíró et al 2018).…”