Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation

Jessica L. Metcalf; Chris Turney; Ross Barnett; Fabiana Martin; Sarah C. Bray; Julia Thidamarth Vilstrup Mouatt; Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando; Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi; Daniel Loponte; Matías Medina; Mariana De Nigris; Teresa Civalero; Pablo Marcelo Fernández; Alejandra Gasco; Victor Duran; Kevin L. Seymour; Clara Otaola; Adolfo Gil; Rafael Paunero; Francisco J. Prevosti; Corey J. A. Bradshaw; Jane C. Wheeler; Luis Borrero; Jeremy J. Austin; Alan Cooper

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1501682

Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation

Jessica L. Metcalf, Chris Turney, Ross Barnett, Fabiana Martin, Sarah C. Bray, Julia Thidamarth Vilstrup Mouatt, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, Daniel Loponte, Matías Medina, Mariana De Nigris, Teresa Civalero, Pablo Marcelo Fernández, Alejandra Gasco, Victor Duran, Kevin L. Seymour, Clara Otaola, Adolfo Gil, Rafael Paunero, Francisco J. PrevostiCorey J. A. Bradshaw, Jane C. Wheeler, Luis Borrero, Jeremy J. Austin, Alan Cooper

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Abstract

The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.

Original language	English
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	2
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	e1501682
Number of pages	8
ISSN	2375-2548
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501682
Publication status	Published - Jun 2016

Keywords

Journal Article

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Metcalf, J. L., Turney, C., Barnett, R., Martin, F., Bray, S. C., Mouatt, J. T. V., Orlando, L. A. A., Salas-Gismondi, R., Loponte, D., Medina, M., De Nigris, M., Civalero, T., Fernández, P. M., Gasco, A., Duran, V., Seymour, K. L., Otaola, C., Gil, A., Paunero, R., ... Cooper, A. (2016). Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation. Science Advances, 2(6), e1501682. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501682

Metcalf, JL, Turney, C, Barnett, R, Martin, F, Bray, SC, Mouatt, JTV, Orlando, LAA, Salas-Gismondi, R, Loponte, D, Medina, M, De Nigris, M, Civalero, T, Fernández, PM, Gasco, A, Duran, V, Seymour, KL, Otaola, C, Gil, A, Paunero, R, Prevosti, FJ, Bradshaw, CJA, Wheeler, JC, Borrero, L, Austin, JJ & Cooper, A 2016, 'Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation', Science Advances, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. e1501682. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501682

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title = "Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation",

abstract = "The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.",

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author = "Metcalf, {Jessica L.} and Chris Turney and Ross Barnett and Fabiana Martin and Bray, {Sarah C.} and Mouatt, {Julia Thidamarth Vilstrup} and Orlando, {Ludovic Antoine Alexandre} and Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi and Daniel Loponte and Mat{\'i}as Medina and {De Nigris}, Mariana and Teresa Civalero and Fern{\'a}ndez, {Pablo Marcelo} and Alejandra Gasco and Victor Duran and Seymour, {Kevin L.} and Clara Otaola and Adolfo Gil and Rafael Paunero and Prevosti, {Francisco J.} and Bradshaw, {Corey J. A.} and Wheeler, {Jane C.} and Luis Borrero and Austin, {Jeremy J.} and Alan Cooper",

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AU - Metcalf, Jessica L.

AU - Turney, Chris

AU - Barnett, Ross

AU - Martin, Fabiana

AU - Bray, Sarah C.

AU - Mouatt, Julia Thidamarth Vilstrup

AU - Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre

AU - Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo

AU - Loponte, Daniel

AU - Medina, Matías

AU - De Nigris, Mariana

AU - Civalero, Teresa

AU - Fernández, Pablo Marcelo

AU - Gasco, Alejandra

AU - Duran, Victor

AU - Seymour, Kevin L.

AU - Otaola, Clara

AU - Gil, Adolfo

AU - Paunero, Rafael

AU - Prevosti, Francisco J.

AU - Bradshaw, Corey J. A.

AU - Wheeler, Jane C.

AU - Borrero, Luis

AU - Austin, Jeremy J.

AU - Cooper, Alan

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N2 - The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.

AB - The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.1501682

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.1501682

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27386563

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 2

SP - e1501682

JO - Science advances

JF - Science advances

IS - 6

ER -

Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation

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UN SDGs

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