Impact of Hunting on Jamaican Hutia (Geocapromys brownii) Populations: Evidence from Zooarchaeology and Hunter Surveys

Wilkins, Laurie

doi:10.1201/9781420039481-26

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…However, further studies suggested that, although some small subpopulations were threatened by continued agricultural or urban development, the species was much more widely distributed than previously supposed; 16 separate subpopulations were identified during survey work in the 1980s, with hutias still relatively abundant in some areas (Oliver 1982;Oliver et al 1986;Oliver and Wilkins 1988). Although population modelling indicated the extreme vulnerability of this species to overhunting, some subpopulations in Coco Ree and Worthy Park showed apparent signs of expansion where hunting pressure had subsided (Mittermeier 1972;Wilkins 2001). There has been no systematic assessment of the status of this species since the 1980s, and recent reports on its current status and likely threats vary across Jamaica.…”

Section: Capromys Undescribed Speciesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Quick Step, although it was considered to have a sparse distribution or occur at low density in this region, with hunters and foresters reporting that it was rarely encountered (Oliver 1982;Oliver et al 1986). Wilkins (2001) Subpopulations apparently are stable on the 3 islands where the species is found, and there are concerns that high densities of translocated hutias have caused significant damage to the vegetation of Little Wax Cay, including local plant extinctions (Campbell et al 1991), and possibly also to local herpetofauna (Franz et al 1993). However, all subpopulations are susceptible to being wiped out by stochastic events such as hurricanes, and also are vulnerable to accidental or deliberate introduction of feral cats or other non-native mammals, which have been responsible for the disappearance of populations of other Geocapromys species on small islands in past decades (Clough 1976).…”

Section: Capromys Undescribed Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Last Survivors: current status and conservation of the non-volant land mammals of the insular Caribbean

Turvey

Kennerley

Nuñez‐Miño

et al. 2017

Journal of Mammalogy

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The insular Caribbean is among the few oceanic-type island systems colonized by non-volant land mammals. This region also has experienced the world's highest levels of historical mammal extinctions, with at least 29 species lost since AD 1500. Representatives of only 2 land-mammal families (Capromyidae and Solenodontidae) now survive, in Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and the Bahama Archipelago. The conservation status of Caribbean land mammals is surprisingly poorly understood. The most recent IUCN Red List assessment, from 2008, recognized 15 endemic species, of which 13 were assessed as threatened. We reassessed all available baseline data on the current status of the Caribbean land-mammal fauna within the framework of the IUCN Red List, to determine specific conservation requirements for Caribbean land-mammal species using an evidence-based approach. We recognize only 13 surviving species, 1 of which is not formally described and cannot be assessed using IUCN criteria; 3 further species previously considered valid are interpreted as junior synonyms or subspecies. Of the 12 reassessed species, 5 have undergone a change in threat status since 2008, with 3 species (Capromys pilorides, Geocapromys brownii, Mesocapromys angelcabrerai) increasing in extinction risk by 1 IUCN category, and 2 species (Plagiodontia aedium, Solenodon paradoxus) decreasing in extinction risk by 2 categories. Only 1 change in threat status represents a genuine change; all other changes are mainly associated with new information becoming available. Hunting, habitat loss, and invasive species represent major threats to surviving species, and conservation of the highly threatened Caribbean landmammal fauna will require a range of targeted management strategies.

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Section: Capromys Undescribed Speciesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Capromys Undescribed Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Last Survivors: current status and conservation of the non-volant land mammals of the insular Caribbean

Turvey

Kennerley

Nuñez‐Miño

et al. 2017

Journal of Mammalogy

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“…Humans have lived in the West Indies for the past 6000 years (Rouse 1989(Rouse , 1992Wilson 1997Wilson , 2001, influencing the flora and fauna of the islands through habitat change, hunting and introduction of plant and animal species, often for food (Wing 1989(Wing , 2001Wilkins 2001). The arrival of Europeans in the West Indies at the end of the fifteenth century brought widespread logging, conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture, increased hunting pressure and continuing introduction of exotic plants and animals.…”

Section: Geography Climate and Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(v) American natives, who began to colonize the West Indies as early as 3500-4000 BC (Wilson 2001), almost certainly caused the rapid extinction of large, terrestrial vertebrates (Morgan & Woods 1986). Evidence for this first wave of anthropogenic extinction comes from bones of vertebrates in cave deposits and middens (Wing 1989) that provide direct evidence for former inhabitants of islands and for the fact that they were depredated by humans for food (Wilkins 2001). (vi) Extinction during the initial period of European colonization of the islands was due to massive habitat alteration for agriculture (primarily sugar cane production; e.g.…”

Section: The Human Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

The West Indies as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution

Ricklefs

Bermingham

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

213

267

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Islands have long provided material and inspiration for the study of evolution and ecology. The West Indies are complex historically and geographically, providing a rich backdrop for the analysis of colonization, diversification and extinction of species. They are sufficiently isolated to sustain endemic forms and close enough to sources of colonists to develop a dynamic interaction with surrounding continental regions. The Greater Antilles comprise old fragments of continental crust, some very large; the Lesser Antilles are a more recent volcanic island arc, and the low-lying Bahama Islands are scattered on a shallow oceanic platform. Dating of island lineages using molecular methods indicates over-water dispersal of most inhabitants of the West Indies, although direct connections with what is now southern Mexico in the Early Tertiary, and subsequent land bridges or stepping stone islands linking to Central and South America might also have facilitated colonization. Species-area relationships within the West Indies suggest a strong role for endemic radiations and extinction in shaping patterns of diversity. Diversification is promoted by opportunities for allopatric divergence between islands, or within the large islands of the Greater Antilles, with a classic example provided by the Anolis lizards. The timing of colonization events using molecular clocks permits analysis of colonization-extinction dynamics by means of species accumulation curves. These indicate low rates of colonization and extinction for reptiles and amphibians in the Greater Antilles, with estimated average persistence times of lineages in the West Indies exceeding 30 Myr. Even though individual island populations of birds might persist an average of 2 Myr on larger islands in the Lesser Antilles, recolonization from within the archipelago appears to maintain avian lineages within the island chain indefinitely. Birds of the Lesser Antilles also provide evidence of a mass extinction event within the past million years, emphasizing the time-heterogeneity of historical processes. Geographical dynamics are matched by ecological changes in the distribution of species within islands over time resulting from adaptive radiation and shifts in habitat, often following repeatable patterns. Although extinction is relatively infrequent under natural conditions, changes in island environments as a result of human activities have exterminated many populations and othersespecially old, endemic species-remain vulnerable. Conservation efforts are strengthened by recognition of aesthetic, cultural and scientific values of the unique flora and fauna of the West Indies.

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“…Populations of Capromys pilorides across mainland Cuba and its offshore archipelagos have been extirpated through direct overharvesting, habitat loss, predation of adults by feral dogs, and predation of young by feral cats (Berovides Álvarez et al, 2009;Borroto-Páez, 2009;Borroto-Páez and Mancina, 2011;Turvey et al, 2017). Geocapromys brownii has declined and become locally extirpated across Jamaica primarily due to overhunting and habitat loss (Clough, 1976;Wilkins, 2001;Turvey et al, 2017), G. ingrahami has become extinct across most of the Bahamas due to a combination of hunting, predation by dogs, and competition with other invasive mammals (Clough, 1972;Morgan, 1989a;Steadman et al, 2017), and G. thoracatus became extinct on Little Swan Island in the 1950s probably as a result of the introduction of feral cats (Clough, 1976). Black rats have been implicated in the loss of Nesophontes species across the Greater Antilles .…”

Section: Radiocarbon Dating and Extinction Chronologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary Fossil Mammals from the Cayman Islands, West Indies

Morgan

MacPhee

Woods

et al. 2019

Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History

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Abundant fossils of nesophontid lipotyphlan insectivores and capromyid rodents have been collected from late Quaternary deposits on the Cayman Islands, an island group separated by a major marine barrier from other Caribbean landmasses and isolated from anthropogenic impacts until the arrival of Columbus in 1503 CE. These collections have not previously been formally described. Using morphological and ancient DNA approaches, we document three new taxa of extinct endemic terrestrial mammals from this island group: Nesophontes hemicingulus (Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac), Capromys pilorides lewisi (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac), and Geocapromys caymanensis (Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac). Morphometric comparisons with other extinct and living West Indian mammals indicate that the biogeographic origins of all three new taxa are from source populations on Cuba. Ancient DNA data indicate very low sequence divergence of Capromys pilorides lewisi from mainland Cuban C. pilorides (only 0.5% across the entire mitogenome). Using probabilistic analysis of existing and new radiometric dates, we calculate an estimated extinction date of 1700 CE (95% confidence interval = 1632-1774 CE) for the Cayman Brac Capromys population. This result suggests that at least one endemic Cayman terrestrial mammal population survived for well over a century following first European arrival in the Cayman Islands. The West Indies lost nearly all its species-rich late Quaternary land mammal fauna during the late Holocene due to direct or indirect human impacts, and this study provides a new baseline to understand the magnitude of human-caused mammal extinctions during the recent past. FIG. 1. Cayman Islands, showing geographical position and paleontological localities on Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

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Impact of Hunting on Jamaican Hutia (Geocapromys brownii) Populations: Evidence from Zooarchaeology and Hunter Surveys

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

The Last Survivors: current status and conservation of the non-volant land mammals of the insular Caribbean

The Last Survivors: current status and conservation of the non-volant land mammals of the insular Caribbean

The West Indies as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution

Late Quaternary Fossil Mammals from the Cayman Islands, West Indies

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