Small Islands and Marginality: Santa Barbara Island and its Role in the Prehistory of California’s Channel Islands

Perry, Jennifer E.; Glassow, Michael A.; Neal, Mark L.; Joslin, Terry L.; Minas, Kelly

doi:10.1080/00934690.2019.1662262

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…For example, differences in soil types, precipitation, and topography could account for differing soil chemistry across the islands (Sims & Pierzynski, 2005; Tiessen, 2008). Differing influences of humans could also account for these differences in soil chemistry (Tiessen, 2008), as both ANIS and SBIS were historically inhabited by the Chumash and Tongva people, respectively (Perry et al, 2019; Rick, 2006), and share a more recent history of livestock ranching (Rick et al, 2014). This latter human presence resulted in overgrazing and the introduction of non‐native species, which led to dramatic vegetation shifts and erosion, both of which can affect soil quality and nutrient retention (Rick et al, 2014; Tiessen, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaving more than footprints: Anthropogenic nutrient subsidies to a protected area

et al. 2022

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Mobile animals that traverse ecosystem boundaries can fundamentally reshape environments by providing critical nutrient and energy inputs to the ecosystems they inhabit. In particular, aggregations of seabirds often transform coastal and island ecosystems through large amounts of nutrient‐rich guano deposition. Anthropogenically driven losses of these subsidies can occur through changes in abundance of mobile species, including seabirds, and have been shown to drive whole‐scale ecosystem state change on islands. However, even though many species that forage on anthropogenic food sources are highly mobile and may thus play important roles in moving nutrients from urban systems to otherwise conserved ecosystems, the impacts of anthropogenic supplements on spatial subsidies have been largely ignored. Here we examine the effects of large nesting colonies of Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis), a generalist carnivore known to forage on human refuse, on the Channel Islands of California. Specifically, we explore how their foraging on human subsidies may change nutrient deposition patterns at their relatively remote and protected breeding islands. We equipped gulls with GPS loggers to assess the frequency of urban foraging, and we partnered this tracking data with bird density data to estimate the rate of wild and urban‐derived guano deposition on two different islands. Consistent with research on other gull species, we found high (up to 40%) but island‐specific rates of urban foraging, resulting between 66 and 93 kg ha−1 of guano in these two sites during the breeding season, a level greater than half the amount of fertilizer applied annually in typical commercial agricultural settings and likely the primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to this system. Specifically, we estimate that 27 kg ha−1 year−1 of nutrient‐rich guano is shuttled to these otherwise isolated islands from anthropogenic sources. This research highlights the large shadow (i.e., footprint) that human activity can cast on even remote ecosystems by driving significant nutrient enrichment through impacts on animal behavior and connectivity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaving more than footprints: Anthropogenic nutrient subsidies to a protected area

et al. 2022

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“…Survey transects consisted of people spaced out with gaps of 8–10 m between each individual, comparable to other surveys in the region (Perry et al 2019:584). Archaeological sites were identified through the presence of faunal remains, artifacts, dark soil, and architectural features on the surface with no subsurface testing.…”

Section: Methods and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Keystone Places and the Chumash Landscapes of Kumqaq’, Point Conception, California

et al. 2022

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The places in which people live and spend time are steeped in history, memory, and meaning from the intersection of daily life, environmental interactions, cultural practices, and ritual. Geologic features, plants, animals, and ecosystems merge with these cultural histories, forming critical parts of the landscape and areas of “high cultural salience,” or “cultural keystone places” (CKPs). We identify Kumqaq’ (Point Conception) and the surrounding area in California as a Chumash CKP. Ethnohistoric accounts and contemporary Chumash community members have long demonstrated the importance of Point Conception in Chumash worldview and identity, whereas biologists, ecologists, and conservationists reference the area's rich biodiversity and significance as a biogeographical boundary. Recent archaeological survey of the coastline surrounding Kumqaq’ highlights these connections, identifying over 50 archaeological sites—including shell middens, villages, lithic scatters, and rock art—with at least 9,000 years of occupation. Ongoing collaborations among archaeologists, the Nature Conservancy, and Chumash community members help document and understand the long-term linkages between cultural and biological diversity and how integrating these perspectives can help ensure the resilience of this nexus of human and natural history in the Anthropocene future.

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“…The locations of many of the precontact settlements on the west coast of North America are marked by shell deposits. Shells are not only more abundant but also generally far larger than the other organic residues in these cultural deposits, and they were consequently preferentially dated by archaeologists in the early years of the “radiocarbon revolution.” The development of AMS dating techniques in the late 1970s and early 1980s allowed investigators to date minute fragments of charcoal or wood, thereby sidestepping the uncertainties that accompany shell ages, but radiocarbon assays on shell carbonate continue to appear in the regional archaeological literature, predominantly from areas where charcoal is rare or unavailable (e.g., Jazwa and Rosencrance 2019; McCain et al 2019; Perry et al 2019; Porcasi and Radde 2017; Reeder-Myers 2014; Taylor et al 2011). Those dates add to the current catalog of more than 4,000 ages from shell on this coast, accounting for about two-thirds of the inventory of radiocarbon ages from the southern half of the coast, and about one-third of the inventory from the north (Figure 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Variation in ΔR on the West Coast of North America in the Late Holocene: Implications for Dating the Shells of Marine Mollusks

Hutchinson

2020

Am. Antiq.

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Radiocarbon ages on mollusk shells, which account for about half of the more than 8,000 dates from cultural deposits on the west coast of North America, need to be corrected for the local marine reservoir effect (ΔR) to yield true ages. Assays on “prebomb” shells show that ΔR increases poleward, echoing the age gradient in offshore waters. The meridional gradient in ΔR is not appreciably affected by the transition either from an upwelling regime to a downwelling regime north of 40°N–45°N or from a winter maximum-high alkalinity river discharge pattern to a summer maximum-low alkalinity pattern at the same latitude, probably because these changes are offset by increasing storminess and tidal energy in coastal areas. Mesoscale variations in ΔR along this gradient are attributable to contrasts in shore morphology and exposure. Data from 123 shell-wood pairs reveal similar patterns of temporal variation in ΔR in the late Holocene in the coastal ecoregions. The characteristic temporal pattern echoes phases of variable El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity. The high degree of variability in ΔR argues against the indiscriminate application of regionally uniform or trans-Holocene ΔR values and demands improvements in spatiotemporal resolution if shell is used to date cultural deposits.

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Small Islands and Marginality: Santa Barbara Island and its Role in the Prehistory of California’s Channel Islands

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

Leaving more than footprints: Anthropogenic nutrient subsidies to a protected area

Leaving more than footprints: Anthropogenic nutrient subsidies to a protected area

Cultural Keystone Places and the Chumash Landscapes of Kumqaq’, Point Conception, California

Spatiotemporal Variation in ΔR on the West Coast of North America in the Late Holocene: Implications for Dating the Shells of Marine Mollusks

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