Humans hastened the extinction of the woolly mammoth

Date:
November 11, 2021
Source:
University of Adelaide
Summary:
New research shows that humans had a significant role in the
extinction of woolly mammoths in Eurasia, occurring thousands
of years later than previously thought. An international team of
scientists has revealed a 20,000-year pathway to extinction for
the woolly mammoth.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research shows that humans had a significant role in the extinction
of woolly mammoths in Eurasia, occurring thousands of years later than previously thought.


==========================================================================
An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University
of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen, has revealed a 20,000-year
pathway to extinction for the woolly mammoth.

"Our research shows that humans were a crucial and chronic driver of
population declines of woolly mammoths, having an essential role in the
timing and location of their extinction," said lead author Associate
Professor Damien Fordham from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute.

"Using computer models, fossils and ancient DNA we have identified the
very mechanisms and threats that were integral in the initial decline
and later extinction of the woolly mammoth." Signatures of past changes
in the distribution and demography of woolly mammoths identified from
fossils and ancient DNA show that people hastened the extinction of
woolly mammoths by up to 4,000 years in some regions.

"We know that humans exploited woolly mammoths for meat, skins, bones
and ivory. However, until now it has been difficult to disentangle the
exact roles that climate warming and human hunting had on its extinction,"
said Associate Professor Fordham.



==========================================================================
The study also shows that woolly mammoths are likely to have survived
in the Arctic for thousands of years longer than previously thought,
existing in small areas of habitat with suitable climatic conditions
and low densities of humans.

"Our finding of long-term persistence in Eurasia independently confirms recently published environmental DNA evidence that shows that woolly
mammoths were roaming around Siberia 5,000 years ago," said Associate
Professor Jeremey Austin from the University of Adelaide's Australian
Centre for Ancient DNA.

Associate Professor David Nogues-Bravo from the University of Copenhagen
was a co-author of the study which is published in the journal Ecology
Letters.

"Our analyses strengthens and better resolves the case for human impacts
as a driver of population declines and range collapses of megafauna in
Eurasia during the late Pleistocene," he said.

"It also refutes a prevalent theory that climate change alone decimated
woolly mammoth populations and that the role of humans was limited to
hunters delivering the coup de gra^ce".

"And shows that species extinctions are usually the result of complex interactions between threatening processes." The researchers emphasise
that the pathway to extinction for the woolly mammoth was long and
lasting, starting many millennia before the final extinction event.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Adelaide. Original
written by Crispin Savage. Note: Content may be edited for style and
length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Damien A. Fordham, Stuart C. Brown, H. Reşit Akc,akaya,
Barry W.

Brook, Sean Haythorne, Andrea Manica, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Jeremy J.

Austin, Benjamin Blonder, Julia Pilowsky, Carsten Rahbek, David
Nogues‐Bravo. Process‐explicit models reveal pathway
to extinction for woolly mammoth using pattern‐oriented
validation.

Ecology Letters, 2021; DOI: 10.1111/ele.13911 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211111130304.htm

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