North American Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions: Overkill, climate change, or both?

Yule, Jeffrey V.

doi:10.1002/evan.20214

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Although prevailing opinion about the cause of late Pleistocene extinctions has varied (e.g., initially focusing on climate change before favoring human activities, especially hunting), there is a growing consensus that humans contributed to at least some late Pleistocene extinctions, with greater or lesser contributions from other factor(s), particularly climate change [8,9]. Responsibility for the extinction of other species (e.g., the dodo, Steller's sea cow) as well as range contractions (of virtually all large felids, canids, and ursids) from later prehistoric into historical times rests more squarely on humans (e.g., due to hunting, capture for use in ancient Roman arenas, and conversion of land to agricultural use).…”

Section: Biodiversity Extinction and Evolutionary Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use

2013

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Human actions have altered global environments and reduced biodiversity by causing extinctions and reducing the population sizes of surviving species. Increasing human population size and per capita resource use will continue to have direct and indirect ecological and evolutionary consequences. As a result, future generations will inhabit a planet with significantly less wildlife, reduced evolutionary potential, diminished ecosystem services, and an increased likelihood of contracting infectious disease. The magnitude of these effects will depend on the rate at which global human population and/or per capita resource use decline to sustainable levels and the degree to which population reductions result from increased death rates rather than decreased birth rates.

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Section: Biodiversity Extinction and Evolutionary Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use

2013

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“…Initial models were useful in demonstrating that human hunting represents a credible alternative explanation to climate change. Although the first models lacked ecological realism, they led to broader acceptance that human hunting could have played a part in the extinctions (e.g., Koch and Barnosky 2006;Yule 2009), laying the groundwork for future modeling efforts. More recent models have played an important role in advancing the debate about the causes of late Pleistocene extinctions (Barnosky et al 2004), but fundamental challenges parameterizing megafaunal extinction models pose significant difficulties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review and Synthesis of Late Pleistocene Extinction Modeling: Progress Delayed by Mismatches between Ecological Realism, Interpretation, and Methodological Transparency

Yule¹,

Fournier²,

Jensen³

et al. 2014

The Quarterly Review of Biology

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Late Pleistocene extinctions occurred globally over a period of about 50,000 years, primarily affecting mammals of > or = 44 kg body mass (i.e., megafauna) first in Australia, continuing in Eurasia and, finally, in the Americas. Polarized debate about the cause(s) of the extinctions centers on the role of climate change and anthropogenic factors (especially hunting). Since the late 1960s, investigators have developed mathematical models to simulate the ecological interactions that might have contributed to the extinctions. Here, we provide an overview of the various methodologies used and conclusions reached in the modeling literature, addressing both the strengths and weaknesses of modeling as an explanatory tool. Although late Pleistocene extinction models now provide a solid foundation for viable future work, we conclude, first, that single models offer less compelling support for their respective explanatory hypotheses than many realize; second, that disparities in methodology (both in terms of model parameterization and design) prevent meaningful comparison between models and, more generally, progress from model to model in increasing our understanding of these extinctions; and third, that recent models have been presented and possibly developed without sufficient regard for the transparency of design that facilitates scientific progress.

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2013

Should We Eat Meat?

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North American Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions: Overkill, climate change, or both?

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use

Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use

A Review and Synthesis of Late Pleistocene Extinction Modeling: Progress Delayed by Mismatches between Ecological Realism, Interpretation, and Methodological Transparency

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