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    Mid-Holocene (4200 kyr BP) mass mortalities in Mauritius (Mascarenes): Insular vertebrates resilient to climatic extremes but vulnerable to human impact

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Rijsdijk, K.
    Zinke, Jens
    de Louw, P.
    Hume, J.
    van der Plicht, H.
    Hooghiemstra, H.
    Meijer, H.
    Vonhof, H.
    Porch, N.
    Florens, F.
    Baider, C.
    van Geel, B.
    Brinkkemper, J.
    Vernimmen, T.
    Janoo, A.
    Date
    2011
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Rijsdijk, K. and Zinke, J. and de Louw, P. and Hume, J. and van der Plicht, H. and Hooghiemstra, H. and Meijer, H. et al. 2011. Mid-Holocene (4200 kyr BP) mass mortalities in Mauritius (Mascarenes): Insular vertebrates resilient to climatic extremes but vulnerable to human impact. The Holocene. 21 (8): pp. 1179-1194.
    Source Title
    HOLOCENE
    DOI
    10.1177/0959683611405236
    ISSN
    0959-6836
    School
    Department of Environment and Agriculture
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21230
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    In the light of the currently increasing drought frequency and water scarcity on oceanic islands, it is crucial for the conservation of threatened insular vertebrates to assess how they will be affected. A 4000 yr old fossil assemblage in the Mare Aux Songes (MAS), southwest Mauritius, Mascarene Islands, contains bones of 100 000+ individual vertebrates, dominated by two species of giant tortoises Cylindraspis triserrata and C. inepta, the dodo Raphus cucullatus, and 20 other vertebrate species (Rijsdijk, Hume, Bunnik, Florens, Baider, Shapiro et al. (2009) Mid-Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 14–24). Nine radiocarbon dates of bones statistically overlap and suggest mass mortality occurred between 4235 and 4100 cal. yr BP. The mortality period coincides with a widely recognized megadrought event. Our multidisciplinary investigations combining geological, paleontological and hydrological evidence suggests the lake was located in a dry coastal setting and had desiccated during this period. Oxygen isotope data from a Uranium-series dated stalagmite from Rodrigues, an island 560 km east of Mauritius, supports this scenario by showing frequently alternating dry and wet periods lasting for decades between 4122 and 2260 cal. yr BP.An extreme drought resulted in falling water-tables at MAS and elsewhere on the island, perhaps deprived these insular vertebrates of fresh water, which led to natural mass mortalities and possibly to extirpations. In spite of these events, all insular species survived until at least the seventeenth century, confirming their resistance to climatic extremes. Despite this, the generally exponential increase of combined human impacts on islands including loss of geodiversity, habitats, and stocks of fresh water, there will be less environmental safe-haven options for insular endemic and native vertebrates during future megadrought conditions; and therefore will be more prone to extinction.

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