Micro Methods for Megafauna: Novel Approaches to Late Quaternary Extinctions and Their Contributions to Faunal Conservation in the Anthropocene

Jillian A. Swift, Michael Bunce, Joe Dortch, Kristina Douglass, J. Tyler Faith, James A. Fellows Yates, Judith Field, Simon G. Haberle, Eileen Jacob, Chris N. Johnson, Emily Lindsey, Eline D. Lorenzen, Julien Louys, Gifford Miller, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Viviane Slon, Natalia A. Villavicencio, Michael R. Waters, Frido Welker, Rachel WoodMichael Petraglia, Nicole Boivin, Patrick Roberts

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Drivers of Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions are relevant to modern conservation policy in a world of growing human population density, climate change, and faunal decline. Traditional debates tend toward global solutions, blaming either dramatic climate change or dispersals of Homo sapiens to new regions. Inherent limitations to archaeological and paleontological data sets often require reliance on scant, poorly resolved lines of evidence. However, recent developments in scientific technologies allow for more local, context-specific approaches. In the present article, we highlight how developments in five such methodologies (radiocarbon approaches, stable isotope analysis, ancient DNA, ancient proteomics, microscopy) have helped drive detailed analysis of specific megafaunal species, their particular ecological settings, and responses to new competitors or predators, climate change, and other external phenomena. The detailed case studies of faunal community composition, extinction chronologies, and demographic trends enabled by these methods examine megafaunal extinctions at scales appropriate for practical understanding of threats against particular species in their habitats today.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)877-887
    Number of pages11
    JournalBioScience
    Volume69
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2019

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