Changes in the large carnivore community structure of the Judean Desert in connection to Holocene human settlement dynamics

AbstractInvestigating historical anthropogenic impacts on faunal communities is key to understanding present patterns of biodiversity and holds important implications for conservation biology. While several studies have demonstrated the human role in the extinction of large herbivores, effective methods to study human interference on large carnivores in the past are limited by the small number of carnivoran remains in the paleozoological record. Here, we integrate a systematic paleozoological survey of biogenic cave assemblages with the archaeological and paleoenvironmental records of the Judean Desert, to reveal historical changes in the large carnivore community. Our results show a late Holocene (~ 3400 years ago) faunal reassembly characterized by the diminishment of the dominant large carnivoran, the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus sbsp. nimr), and the spread of the Syrian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena sbsp. syriaca). We suggest that increased hunting pressure in combination with regional aridification were responsible for the decrease in the number of leopards, while the introduction of domestic animals and settlement refuse brought new scavenging opportunities for hyenas. The recent extirpation of leopards from the region has been a final note to the Holocene human impact on the ecosystem.

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The faded stripes of Bengal: a historical perspective on the easternmost distribution of the striped hyena

European Journal of Wildlife Research ◽

10.1007/s10344-021-01552-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Muntasir Akash ◽

Arjun Dheer ◽

Stephanie M. Dloniak ◽

Andrew P. Jacobson

Keyword(s):

West Bengal ◽

Large Carnivores ◽

Historical Evidence ◽

The Past ◽

South Central ◽

Indian State ◽

Damodar River ◽

Striped Hyena ◽

Hyaena Hyaena ◽

Historical Range

AbstractThe striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is an understudied large carnivore with no known historic range map. Knowledge of the past and present extent of its easternmost distribution beyond 85° east longitude is dubious. Through a comprehensive review of historical evidence and contemporary records, we investigated striped hyena presence in Bengal, i.e., Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal in South Asia. We found 14 historical records, with the oldest one dating to 1876. Our review establishes Bangladesh as a former striped hyena range country and the striped hyena as one of the first large carnivores to go extinct in Bangladesh. We identified northern Bangladesh as part of its historical range (until ~1965), and south-central Bangladesh as a possible part of its historical range. In West Bengal, India, hyenas were historically present up to the southern tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, but the present range is reduced. The area south of the Damodar River is its last refuge in Bengal. We also found 15 contemporary records (2010–2021) in Bengal, from sites situated on the eastern limit of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. These records noted 25 sightings including 9 deaths due to poaching, train accidents, and retaliatory killings. Our review demonstrates that hyenas are currently present up to 87° east longitude, which extends the currently documented easternmost range for the species by almost 1,000 km. We recommend methods which can be applied to delineate the historical extent of striped hyenas elsewhere as well as for other poorly understood species.

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Habitat preference indicators for striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in Nepal

Global Ecology and Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01619 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. e01619

Author(s):

Shivish Bhandari ◽

Daya Ram Bhusal ◽

Maria Psaralexi ◽

Stefanos Sgardelis

Keyword(s):

Habitat Preference ◽

Striped Hyena ◽

Hyaena Hyaena

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Late Holocene Sea Temperatures along the Central California Coast

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1006/qres.1998.2000 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 74-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Terry L. Jones ◽

Douglas J. Kennett

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Fish Bone ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Central California ◽

The Past ◽

Past 2000 Years ◽

Terrestrial Productivity ◽

Continued Use ◽

Mussel Shells ◽

Marine Productivity

AbstractMussel shells from central California coastal archaeological sites record changes in sea surface temperatures in the past 2000 years. Water temperatures, inferred from oxygen isotopes in the shells, were about 1°C cooler than present and stable between 2000 and 700 yr ago. Between about 700 and 500 yr ago, seasonal variation was greater than present, with extremes above and below historic levels. Water temperatures were 2–3°C cooler than today 500–300 yr ago. The interval of variable sea temperatures 700–500 yr ago partially coincided with an interval of drought throughout central California. A coincident disruption in human settlement along the coast suggests movements of people related to declining water sources. Quantities of fish bone in central coast middens dating to this same period are high relative to other periods, and the remains of northern anchovies, a species sensitive to changing oceanographic conditions, are also abundant. The continued use of local fisheries suggests that changes in settlement and diet were influenced more by drought than by a decrease in marine productivity, as fish provided a staple during an interval of low terrestrial productivity.

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Using the past to contextualize anthropogenic impacts on the present and future distribution of an endemic Caribbean mammal

Conservation Biology ◽

10.1111/cobi.13290 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 500-510 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

L.M. Gibson ◽

A.M. Mychajliw ◽

Y. Leon ◽

E. Rupp ◽

E.A. Hadly

Keyword(s):

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

The Past

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Late-Holocene Formation of Lake Michigan Beach Ridges Correlated with a 70-yr Oscillation in Global Climate

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1006/qres.1996.0033 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 321-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Paul A. Delcourt ◽

William H. Petty ◽

Hazel R. Delcourt

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Lake Michigan ◽

Global Climate ◽

Temperature Oscillation ◽

Beach Ridges ◽

Climate Fluctuations ◽

The Past ◽

Fundamental Part ◽

Atmosphere System ◽

Centennial Time Scale

AbstractA radiocarbon-dated series of 75 beach ridges, formed at regular intervals averaging 72 yr over the past 5400 yr, provides further support for the existence of a 70-yr oscillation in Northern Hemisphere climate, postulated recently from instrument data representing less than two cycles of this climate oscillation. Results from this study lend support to the interpretation that internal variations in the ocean–atmosphere system are an important factor in climate fluctuations on a decadal–centennial time scale. A temperature oscillation with a period of about 70 yr has been a previously unrecognized but fundamental part of the global climate system since at least the middle Holocene.

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Anthropogenic impacts on Late Holocene land-cover change and floristic biodiversity loss in tropical southeastern Asia

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2022210118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (40) ◽

pp. e2022210118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhuo Zheng ◽

Ting Ma ◽

Patrick Roberts ◽

Zhen Li ◽

Yuanfu Yue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Southern China ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Freshwater Wetland ◽

Social Changes ◽

Rice Agriculture ◽

Human Land Use ◽

Key Species ◽

The Face

Southern China and Southeast Asia witnessed some of their most significant economic and social changes relevant to human land use during the Late Holocene, including the intensification and spread of rice agriculture. Despite rice growth being associated with a number of earth systems impacts, how these changes transformed tropical vegetation in this region of immense endemic biodiversity remains poorly understood. Here, we compile a pollen dataset incorporating ∼150,000 identifications and 233 pollen taxa to examine past changes in floral biodiversity, together with a compilation of records of forest decline across the region using 14 pollen records spanning lowland to mountain sites. Our results demonstrate that the rise of intensive rice agriculture from approximately 2,000 y ago led not only to extensive deforestation but also to remarkable changes of vegetation composition and a reduction in arboreal diversity. Focusing specifically on the Tertiary relic tree species, the freshwater wetland conifer Glyptostrobus (Glyptostrobus pensilis), we demonstrate how key species that had survived changing environmental conditions across millions of years shrank in the face of paddy rice farming and human disturbance.

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Mid- to late-Holocene climate variability and anthropogenic impacts: multi-proxy evidence from Lake Bliden, Denmark

Journal of Paleolimnology ◽

10.1007/s10933-009-9334-7 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 323-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Jesper Olsen ◽

Nanna Noe-Nygaard ◽

Brent B. Wolfe

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Holocene Climate

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Holocene temperature variations inferred from Antarctic ice cores

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500016803 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 427-436 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Ciais ◽

J. Jouzel ◽

J. R. Petit ◽

V. Lipenkov ◽

J. W. C. White

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Ice Core ◽

Ice Cores ◽

Temperature Fluctuations ◽

Base Line ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Average Temperature ◽

The Past ◽

Reconstructed Temperature ◽

Line Temperature

We have reconstructed temperature changes over the past 15 000 years from ice-core data in Antarctica. We used measurements of the D/H isotope ratio in ice as a proxy of temperature for central sites (Vostok, Dome C and Komsomolskaya; as well as coastal sites (D47, D15 and D10). First, we examined the dating of each core and built up a common temporal framework for the ensemble of the data. Secondly, we addressed the problem of inferring small-amplitude temperature fluctuations from the isotope data, in the light of noise-generating mechanisms involved in snow deposition. Temperature was reconstructed so as to minimize distortion created by the sampling of ice cores in the field. The seven ice cores studied yield an average temperature curve which can be put in perspective with nearby paleoclimatic records. The early Holocene experienced climates warmer than today by 1-2°C. The late Holocene period shows more discernible, shorter-duration, temperature fluctuations, superimposed on a fairly stable "base-line" temperature.

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Trends in Chesapeake Bay Sedimentation Rates during the Late Holocene

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/0033-5894(90)90071-r ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 33-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Joseph F. Donoghue

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Chesapeake Bay ◽

Sea Level ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Tide Gauge ◽

Past Century ◽

Sedimentation Rates ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

The Past ◽

Relative Sea Level Rise

AbstractTrends are discernible in the estimates of late Holocene rates of sedimentation and sea-level rise for the Chesapeake Bay. During most of the Holocene Epoch sedimentation rates and relative sea-level rise were equal, within the limits of measurement, at approximately 1 mm yr−1. Sedimentation rates measured over the past century, however, are nearly an order of magnitude higher, while the rate of relative sea-level rise for the Chesapeake Bay now averages 3.3 mm yr−1, as measured on long-term tide gauge records. When the acceleration in these rates occurred is uncertain, but it appears to have been confined to the past millennium, and probably to the past few centuries. The rapid sedimentation rates recorded during historic time may be a temporary disequilibrium that has resulted from a recent acceleration in the rate of relative sea-level rise.

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