Causes and Consequences of Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinctions as Revealed from Rancho La Brea Mammals

Current Biology : CB
Larisa R G DeSantisThure E Cerling

Abstract

The fossils preserved in the Rancho La Brea "tar" seeps in southern California span the past ∼50,000 years and provide a rare opportunity to assess the ecology of predators (e.g., the American lion, sabertooth cats, cougars, dire wolves, gray wolves, and coyotes), including clarifying the causes and consequences of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event. Here, a multi-proxy approach elucidates dietary responses of carnivorans to changing climates and megafaunal extinctions. Using sample sizes that are unavailable anywhere else in the world, including hundreds of carnivoran and herbivore specimens, we clarify the paleobiology of the extinct sabertooth cats and dire wolves-overturning the idea that they heavily competed for similar prey. Canids (especially the dire wolf) consumed prey from more open environments than felids, demonstrating minimal competition for prey throughout the latest Pleistocene and largely irrespective of changing climates, including just prior to their extinction. Coyotes experienced a dramatic shift in dietary behavior toward increased carcass utilization and the consumption of forest resources (prey and/or plant resources) after the terminal Pleistocene megafaunal extinction. Extant predators' ability...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 4, 2020·PeerJ·Christine M JanisStephan Lautenschlager
Jan 15, 2021·Nature·Angela R PerriLaurent A F Frantz
Feb 26, 2020·Current Biology : CB·Larisa R G DeSantisGary T Takeuchi
Apr 17, 2021·Current Biology : CB·Larisa R G DeSantisErnest L Lundelius
May 12, 2021·Royal Society Open Science·Jordan BestwickMark A Purnell

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