Climate change without extinction: Tasmania's small-mammal communities persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum–Holocene transition

McDowell, Matthew C.; Eberhard, R; Smith, Tessa R.; Wood, Rachel; Brook, Barry W.; Johnson, Christopher N.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107659

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…At present, the species occupies less than half (41%) of that broad niche, despite the availability of suitable climate across a large area beyond its current distribution. The potential distribution of M. fuscus has been remarkably stable since the Late Pleistocene, despite the climate shifts of the Last Glacial Maximum–Holocene transition (McDowell et al, 2022). Throughout this period a broad arc of habitat in southeastern mainland Australia and Tasmania remained climatically suitable for the species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the composition of Tasmania's small mammals changed dramatically during the Late Pleistocene—Holocene transition when grassland species (chiefly M. fuscus ) initially made up ~80% of owl prey indicating grassy vegetation was common. However, McDowell et al (2022) showed that as global temperature rose and forest vegetation expanded in Tasmania, a suite of forest‐dwelling mammals also increased in relative abundance while grassland species declined (McDowell et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling of fossil and contemporary data suggest the Broad‐toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) currently occupies a small part of its available climatic niche: Implications of paleontological data for conservation of a threatened species

et al. 2023

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We use fossil, sub‐fossil and contemporary records of the Broad‐toothed rat, Mastacomys fuscus, to model changes in its range over the last 21 thousand years. Mastacomys fuscus was exposed to, and flourished in, a much broader range of environmental conditions in the recent past than it occupies today. It also currently occupies a much smaller range than it did in the Late Pleistocene. Apart from a weak response to sea‐level rise in the Holocene, the decline of M. fuscus does not correlate with known climate change. Instead, the contraction of the species' distribution on mainland Australia to high‐elevation areas occurred recently and rapidly. Small changes in the 1000 year BP and present‐day projected distributions imply some contraction of the area of suitable climate to higher elevations of the mainland subspecies M. f. mordicus, up to 2200 m above sea level. However, M. f. mordicus also persists near sea level at Cape Otway (southwestern Victoria) and from sea level to 1500 m above sea level at Barrington Tops (eastern New South Wales, Australia). This suggests suitable habitat may still exist in coastal Victoria and the central Tablelands/Blue Mountains areas. This research highlights the importance and value of using sub‐fossil data to understand changes in the distribution and niche occupation of threatened species as the basis for conservation planning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of fossil and contemporary data suggest the Broad‐toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) currently occupies a small part of its available climatic niche: Implications of paleontological data for conservation of a threatened species

et al. 2023

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“…The number of identified specimens (NISP) was calculated for each species, then converted to relative abundance (Ri%) and ecological guild abundance (i.e. species that use resources or habitats in similar ways) to facilitate comparisons between samples (see McDowell et al, 2012McDowell et al, , 2015McDowell, Eberhard, et al, 2022). Species were grouped into habitat guilds (see Appendix S1; Figure 3), plotted on a linear timescale and overlain with palaeotemperature records derived from oxygen isotopic ratios measured from the Vostok ice core (Jouzel et al, 1987(Jouzel et al, , 1993(Jouzel et al, , 1996.…”

Section: Faunal Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting the mammal deposits of Cloggs Cave (SEAustralia),GunaiKurnaiAboriginal Country, through community‐led partnership research

et al. 2022

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1. Palaeontological animal bone deposits are rarely investigated through research partnerships where the local First Nations communities have a defining hand in both the research questions asked and the research processes. Here we report research undertaken through such a partnership approach at the iconic archaeological site of Cloggs Cave (GunaiKurnai Country, East Gippsland), in the southern foothills of SE Australia's Great Dividing Range.2. A new excavation was combined with detailed chronometric dating, highresolution 3D mapping and geomorphological studies. This allowed interpretation of a sequence of stratigraphic layers spanning from a lowermost excavated mixed layer dated to between 25,640 and 48,470 cal BP, to a dense set of uppermost, ash layers dated to between 1460 and 3360 cal BP. This long and welldated chronostratigraphic sequence enabled temporal trends in the abundant small mammal remains to be examined.3. The fossil assemblage consists of at least 31 taxa of mammals which change in proportions through time. Despite clear evidence that the Old Ancestors repeatedly carried vegetation into the cave to fuel cool fires (no visible vegetation grows in Cloggs Cave), we observed little to no evidence of cooking fires or calcined bone, suggesting that people had little involvement with the accumulation of the faunal remains. Small mammal bones were most likely deposited in the cave by large disc-faced owls, Tyto novaehollandae (Masked Owl) or Tyto tenebricosa (Sooty Owl).

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Scat contents of a spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) reveal evidence of broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) within a fragmented habitat in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Henderson,

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2024

Aust. Mammal.

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We found evidence of a broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) in a spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) scat collected within a fragmented site in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The nearest known population of M. fuscus is located 50 km away in the Barrington Tops, where the population is listed as endangered. This is a potentially significant discovery for the conservation of this species and suggests that it may exist in a fragmented landscape outside its current distribution. We recommend further research is undertaken to determine if a population does exist near to where the sample was collected.

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Climate change without extinction: Tasmania's small-mammal communities persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum–Holocene transition

Cited by 4 publications

References 49 publications

Modelling of fossil and contemporary data suggest the Broad‐toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) currently occupies a small part of its available climatic niche: Implications of paleontological data for conservation of a threatened species

Modelling of fossil and contemporary data suggest the Broad‐toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) currently occupies a small part of its available climatic niche: Implications of paleontological data for conservation of a threatened species

Interpreting the mammal deposits of Cloggs Cave (SEAustralia),GunaiKurnaiAboriginal Country, through community‐led partnership research

Scat contents of a spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) reveal evidence of broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) within a fragmented habitat in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

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