Macroecological analyses support the overkill scenario for the late pleistocene extinctions
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Data
2004-08-31
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Editor
Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
Resumo
The extinction of megafauna at the end of Pleistocene has been traditionally explained by environmental
changes or overexploitation by human hunting (overkill). Despite difficulties in choosing between these
alternative (and not mutually exclusive) scenarios, the plausibility of the overkill hypothesis can be established
by ecological models of predator-prey interactions. In this paper, I have developed a macroecological
model for the overkill hypothesis, in which prey population dynamic parameters, including abundance,
geographic extent, and food supply for hunters, were derived from empirical allometric relationships
with body mass. The last output correctly predicts the final destiny (survival or extinction) for 73% of
the species considered, a value only slightly smaller than those obtained by more complex models based
on detailed archaeological and ecological data for each species. This illustrates the high selectivity of
Pleistocene extinction in relation to body mass and confers more plausibility on the overkill scenario.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Overkill, Macroecology, Pleistocene, Extinction, Hunter-gatherers
Citação
DINIZ FILHO, J. A. F. Macroecological analyses support the overkill scenario for the late pleistocene extinctions. Brazilian Journal of Biology, São Carlos, v. 64, n. 3A, p. 407-414, Aug. 2004.