A late Pleistocene refugium in Mediterranean North Africa? Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from stable isotope analyses of land snail shells (Haua Fteah, Libya)

Prendergast, Amy; Stevens, Rhiannon E.; O’Connell, Tamsin C.; Hill, Evan; Hunt, Chris; Barker, Graeme

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.02.014

Cited by 39 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 153 publications

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“…2), whose genetic structure resulted from a likely refugia within refugia process (i.e. several distinct refugia within Iberian Peninsula; Froufe et al, 2014Froufe et al, , 2017, further highlighting Morocco as an additional refugium in this species' phylogeographic history (Husemann et al, 2014;Prendergast et al, 2016). The wide European distribution and the close genetic proximity of the Moroccan and Southern Iberian populations (Figs.…”

Section: Anodonta Anatinamentioning

confidence: 93%

Freshwater conservation assessments in (semi-)arid regions: Testing river intermittence and buffer strategies using freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) in Morocco

Gomes‐dos‐Santos

Froufe

Gonçãlves

et al. 2019

Biological Conservation

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A B S T R A C TThe IUCN Red List assessments are essentially based on population trends and range, namely Area of Occupancy (AOO) and Extent of Occupancy (EOO). Range estimations are based on fixed grids, but this is likely inappropriate for species living in river networks. Furthermore, AOO and EOO are measured using the whole hydrographic network, therefore disregarding temporary sections, which is particularly problematic in arid and semi-arid regions. Here we mapped the permanent hydrographic network of Morocco using satellite imagery, complemented with field surveys to collect samples for molecular analyses of the five freshwater mussel species present and assess their distribution. The phylogeographic patterns are described for each species and used to identify priority areas and evolutionary significant units for conservation. Permanent hydrographic river sections represent only 18.3% of the whole hydrographic network. A north-to-south gradient of genetic diversity, species richness and distribution range was found, being coherent with water availability and river intermittence. Isolated evolutionary units were detected in southern basins that should also receive particular attention in conservation planning. We propose the mean river width multiplied by the extent of the river network as the best and the most adequate way to estimate both EOO and AOO. Given the worldwide degradation of freshwater systems and biodiversity, an accurate (re)assessment of species conservation status supported with maps of intermittent water bodies will be essential for prioritizing and guiding conservation actions and management plans, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.

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Section: Anodonta Anatinamentioning

confidence: 93%

Freshwater conservation assessments in (semi-)arid regions: Testing river intermittence and buffer strategies using freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) in Morocco

Gomes‐dos‐Santos

Froufe

Gonçãlves

et al. 2019

Biological Conservation

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“…Wild cereals, for example, were common only in a few areas of the Mediterranean during glacial times, and Wright (1976) suggested that parts of North Africa, such as Morocco, might have been significant wild cereal refugia during the late Pleistocene. Although subsequent research has shown this not to be true for the Maghreb, glacial-age environmental conditions were relatively favourable in some areas of North Africa, such as Cyrenaica (Prendergast et al, 2016). Overall evidence indicates that the most important glacial refuge area for wild cereals was in the southern Levant, an area that was less adversely affected by Late Pleistocene cold and aridity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Human responses and non-responses to climatic variations during the last Glacial-Interglacial transition in the eastern Mediterranean

Roberts

Woodbridge

Bevan

et al. 2018

Quaternary Science Reviews

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We review and evaluate human adaptations during the last glacial-interglacial climatic transition in southwest Asia. Stable isotope data imply that climatic change was synchronous across the region within the limits of dating uncertainty. Changes in vegetation, as indicated from pollen and charcoal, mirror step-wise shifts between cold-dry and warm-wet climatic conditions, but with lag effects for woody vegetation in some upland and interior areas. Palaeoenvironmental data can be set against regional archaeological evidence for human occupancy and economy from the later Epipalaeolithic to the aceramic Neolithic. Demographic change is evaluated from summed radiocarbon date probability distributions, which indicating contrasting-and in some cases opposite-population trajectories in different regions. Abrupt warming transitions at ~14.5 and 11.7 ka BP may have acted as pacemakers for rapid cultural change in some areas, notably at the start of the Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures. However temporal synchroneity does not mean that climatic changes had the same environmental or societal consequences in different regions. During cold-dry time intervals, regions such as the Levant acted as refugia for plant and animal resources and human population. In areas where socio-ecological continuity was maintained through periods of adverse climate (e.g. Younger Dryas) human communities were able to respond rapidly to subsequent climatic improvement. By contrast, in areas where there was a break in settlement at these times (e.g. central Anatolia), populations were slower to react to the new opportunities provided by the interglacial world.

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“…However, there is no evidence that hyper-arid conditions, which are apparent in Late Quaternary records from elsewhere in North Africa, occurred in the Gebel Akhdar during the last 100,000 years (Prendergast et al, 2016b;Reade et al, 2016a). Low-magnitude variations are nonetheless evident, with periods of increased aridity identified during OIS 2 and 3 (Prendergast et al, 2016b;Reade et al, 2016a). These appear to correspond to increased landscape instability (Inglis, 2012;Reade et al, 2016a).…”

Section: Study Area: the Gebel Akhdarmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Gebel Akhdar has an archaeological record that extends back to at least oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5 (Douka et al, 2014;Jacobs et al, 2017) and was a likely coastal refugium during periods when surrounding Saharan areas were depopulated due to increased aridity (Barker et al, 2010;Cremaschi et al, 1998). Palaeoenvironmental data from the Gebel Akhdar show relatively low-magnitude long-term variations in temperature and aridity during the late Pleistocene and Holocene (Inglis, 2012;Prendergast et al, 2016b;Reade et al, 2016a;, which contrast with an archaeological record that displays significant changes in resource exploitation and landscape use across this time period (Hunt et al, 2011;Jones et al, 2016;Klein and Scott, 1986;Prendergast et al, 2016a). In particular, major changes in the seasonal pattern of resource exploitation have been identified (Prendergast et al, 2016a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased climate seasonality during the late glacial in the Gebel Akhdar, Libya

Reade

O’Connell

Barker

et al. 2018

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Oxygen isotope analysis (δ 18 O) of caprine and bovine tooth enamel carbonates from the Haua Fteah cave (Gebel Akhdar massif, northeast Libya) reveals significant differences in palaeoseasonality during the last c. 70 ka. Data indicate different phases of human occupation of the region occurred under notably different climatic conditions. During the last glacial period, prior to the Last Glacial Maximum, a gradual increase in climate aridity occurred. This was followed in the late glacial (c. 16.6-14.7 ka) by considerably more arid conditions and much greater climate seasonality, which was likely produced by changing winter precipitation amounts and a strengthening of arid summer air masses. The high seasonality in the late glacial coincides with a period when human activity at the Haua Fteah greatly intensified. Significant changes in subsistence strategies and the seasonal exploitation of food resources also occurred at this time. The results presented here suggest that changes in the seasonal climate may have affected the seasonal supply of floral and faunal resources available to local human populations at the time, which resulted in changing subsistence practices.

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A late Pleistocene refugium in Mediterranean North Africa? Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from stable isotope analyses of land snail shells (Haua Fteah, Libya)

Cited by 39 publications

References 153 publications

Freshwater conservation assessments in (semi-)arid regions: Testing river intermittence and buffer strategies using freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) in Morocco

Freshwater conservation assessments in (semi-)arid regions: Testing river intermittence and buffer strategies using freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) in Morocco

Human responses and non-responses to climatic variations during the last Glacial-Interglacial transition in the eastern Mediterranean

Increased climate seasonality during the late glacial in the Gebel Akhdar, Libya

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