When the grass wasn't greener: Megafaunal ecology and paleodroughts

Rozas‐Davila, Angela; Correa‐Metrio, Alex; McMichael, Crystal N.H.; Bush, Mark B.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107073

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The fossil pollen extracts from analyses made by Restrepo et al. ( 19 ) were examined for Sporormiella , Podospora , and Cercophora , all of which have been used as proxies for megaherbivores ( 10 , 54 ). Here, we report the Sporormiella data as these are the only one (of the three) that is an obligate dung fungus.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-induced ecological cascades: Extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands

Bush

Conrad

Restrepo

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Significance The Galápagos Islands are an iconic evolutionary and ecological setting, recognized to be both species-poor and ecologically sensitive. Here, we show an indirect ecological cascade initiated by whalers harvesting tortoises near the coast in the 1790s, which had lasting impacts on the highland interior of San Cristóbal Island. Our data also reveal how the replacement of endemic herbivores with exotic herbivores, namely, cattle, impacted the local vegetation. We advocate for the restoration of preimpact shrub species and tortoises to promote habitat rewilding, restoration, and especially the socioeconomic value of these highland ecosystems in providing tourist experiences.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-induced ecological cascades: Extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands

Bush

Conrad

Restrepo

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Hunting likely contributed to the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna ca. 13,000 years ago in Central America and the Peruvian Andes (Rozas‐Davila et al, 2021, 2016). Plant cultivation in the Neotropics began in the early Holocene; people were cultivating a variety of domesticated seeds and crops by 7000 years ago (Piperno, 1998, 2011; Piperno et al, 1985, 1991; Piperno & Flannery, 2001; Piperno & Holst, 1998; Piperno & Jones, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological legacies of past fire and human activity in a Panamanian forest

McMichael

Vink

Heijink

et al. 2022

Plants People Planet

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Tropical forests provide global ecosystem services and harbor much of Earth's terrestrial biodiversity, but the mechanisms driving the patterns of biodiversity remain uncertain. Palms are one of the most abundant and most widely used plant groups, particularly in the Neotropics. Our data highlight how both direct and indirect human influence that occurred decades to hundreds of years ago can affect the abundances of palm species in modern tropical forests. Our results highlight that biodiversity is dynamic, and changes through time, and that human activities can affect species composition for centuries in tropical forests. Summary• Human activities over the past decades and centuries, including fire, cultivation, and forest opening, may have left ecological legacies that persist in modern tropical forests, particularly among palms. We investigated whether past human activities affected modern palm abundances in a well-studied plot located in a tropical semievergreen forest of Panama.• We analyzed soil cores for charcoal to reconstruct past fire events and phytoliths to reconstruct past vegetation changes. We dated as many charcoal fragments as possible to place a temporal framework on past fire events.• Our analysis documented widespread fires that occurred 600-900 years ago across the plot. Oenocarpus mapora increased in abundance as a result of these fires, though other palms did not. A subsequent increase in O. mapora occurred later in the relative absence of fire and was likely due to game hunting during the construction of the Panama Canal.• Our results showed that the enrichment of O. mapora was determined by disturbance characteristics (e.g., timing, type, and intensity), but the persistence of increased abundances was likely determined by traits (life history characteristics). These data highlight the complexity of human-environment interactions and how they can persist for centuries in settings with long-lived trees such as tropical forests. These data highlight the importance of adding a historical context to further understand modern ecological patterns and processes.

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Human-environmental interaction with extreme hydrological events and climate change scenarios as background

Sánchez-García

Francos

2022

Geography and Sustainability

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When the grass wasn't greener: Megafaunal ecology and paleodroughts

Cited by 4 publications

References 62 publications

Human-induced ecological cascades: Extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands

Human-induced ecological cascades: Extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands

Ecological legacies of past fire and human activity in a Panamanian forest

Human-environmental interaction with extreme hydrological events and climate change scenarios as background

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