Variation and pattern in the responses of mammal faunas to Late Pleistocene climatic change in southeastern South Australia

Abstract

We examined mammal occurrence and variability through the Late Pleistocene vertebrate fossil deposit of Grant Hall in Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. To determine long‐term patterns of change, we compared the composition and relative abundance trends of the assemblage with a nearby Middle Pleistocene deposit in Cathedral Cave. Total species richness did not change through the Grant Hall sequence, dated from 93 ± 8 to 70 ± 5 ka. However, species relative abundances varied between ecologically divergent species, and in some cases between species that demonstrate similar environmental preferences. For some species this variation is comparable to that recorded in Cathedral Cave. Of those showing similar trends between the two deposits, the forest inhabitant, Pseudomys fumeus, recorded an 8.6% decline through Grant Hall, coincident with a 9.7% increase in the dry heath/mallee dweller Pseudomys apodemoides. These patterns indicate that climatic transition from relatively warm, moist to cooler, drier conditions impacted some species in similar ways through climatic cycles of the past. However, the majority of the fauna demonstrated complex responses that are individual and variable through time. Statistical tests of species trends from the Grant Hall assemblage caution that large fossil samples are required to validate patterns observed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Late Quaternary Small Mammal Faunas of the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area

“…1 and Sminthopsis sp. 1; Appendix) were common in the late Quaternary aged assemblages examined here but have not been noted in older fossil assemblages (Reed & bourne 2000;Prideaux et al 2007;macken et al 2012). two species previously listed for Wet Cave and RCiC respectively, Cercartetus concinnus and Petauroides volans, were not identified in the current re-examination of these fossil collections.…”

“…three species (Antechinus minimus, A. stuartii and A. swainsonii) were not identified in the studied assemblages but are present in assemblages of the nCWhA dated older than c. 70 ka (Smith 1972;Reed & bourne 2000;Prideaux et al 2007;macken et al 2012). Reed and bourne (2000) suggested that identification of Antechinus species from nCWhA deposits may require revision, particularly as A. minimus, A. stuartii and A. swainsonii were only known from single deposits at the time of their publication.…”

“…indet. and Pseudomys novaehollandiae) have no previous record from the nCWhA (Reed & bourne 2000(Reed & bourne , 2009macken et al 2012). An additional two unknown taxa (dasyuridae sp.…”

“…Research into the naracoorte Cave fossil assemblages has made significant contributions to knowledge of (i) middle to late Pleistocene faunal communities of southern Australia (e.g., Prideaux et al 2007;macken et al 2012), (ii) taxonomy and systematics of extinct and living faunas (e.g., Prideaux & Wells 1998;Williams 1999;Prideaux 2004), (iii) vertebrate taphonomy of cave deposits (e.g., Reed 2006 and (iv) environmental change over the Pleistocene (e.g., Forbes & bestland , darrénougué et al 2009. As the naracoorte Caves contain 'megafauna' species such as Thylacoleo carnifex, Zygomaturus trilobus, 'Procoptodon' gilli and Wonambi naracoortensis, research into the cave assemblages has provided insights into the diversity, distribution and extinction dynamics of this group of large body-sized faunas at the end of the Pleistocene (e.g., Pate et al 2006;Prideaux et al 2007).…”

“…Of particular interest were observed patterns in species occurrence in the late Quaternary period when compared with older naracoorte Cave deposits as revealed by previous faunal lists for the nCWhA. For example, six species of small body-sized dasyuridae (Antechinus agilis, Antechinus minimus, Antechinus stuartii, Antechinus swainsonii, Dasyurus maculatus and Phascogale calura) and two Potoroidae (Bettongia penicillata and Potorous tridactylus) are not known from the <50 ka aged assemblages of Wet, Robertson and blanche Caves, but are identified from one or more older assemblages within nearby Victoria Fossil and Australia (2013), 137(1): [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] Cathedral Caves (c. 530 ka to 70 ka; Prideaux et al 2007;Reed & bourne 2000Reed & bourne , 2009macken et al 2012). by comparison, three species of small possum, Cercartetus concinnus, Petauroides volans and Petaurus norfolcensis are listed from the late Quaternary (<50 ka) assemblages but have no known older fossil distribution (Reed & bourne 2000(Reed & bourne , 2009.…”