BIOL 4150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Tar Pit, Late Pleistocene, Canine Distemper
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Textbook: Wildlife Ecology, Conservation, and Management
www.r-project.org
Rm. 2460 --> 3-4pm office hours for Becky
Due every second Friday
!
Worth 4-6 marks each
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Drop off in TA offices
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Assignments:
Midterm 1 -October 12
Midterm 2 -November 23
Makeup Exam -December 4 (7pm)
Tar pit in LA
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Bones of the saber tooth cat, bison, ground sloth and horses
are placed on a histogram
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Human bones showed up in sample as other skeletons
disappeared
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The bulk of that occurred…
!
Therefore, this is triggered by overexploitation
by humans
"
Consistent corroboration with other areas over the
world (mostly large animals disappeared; easier to
hunt and maintain populations)
!
The rate of extinction dramatically increased in the
Ranchobrean period of the Upper Pleistocene
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Rancho la Brea bone samples:
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Extinction is correlated with body mass of animals
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Higher space requirement -less abundant
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Life history (smaller litter sizes)
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Human safety
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"big things go first"
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Size-differentiation Defaunation:
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Mass burning of forests -habitat modification
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Emu shells --> distinct change in food plants (change of %
carbon)
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Isotope Signatures:
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Blitzkrieg overkill
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Habitat change
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Climate change
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Predation on flightless birds
!
Predations by predators (Polynesian and black rat)
introduced by humans
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Alternative Hypothesis:
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Extinction Case Histories (Chapter 17)
Part of a guild of large flightless birds that were endemic to
New Zealand and Australia
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Rapidly went extinct soon after human arrival
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Great moa
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Restricted to a single island off the coast of New Zealand
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Known from carcasses collected by a light-house keeper on
the island
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His cat killed the entire wren population
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Stephens Island wren
!
One of the most common birds in NA
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Last one died in 1914
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Driven extinct through a combination of overhunting,
habitat loss, and possibly Allee effects by predation once
numbers have dwindled
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Passenger pigeon
!
Very common in Europe, Greenland and Newfoundland
until the early 1800s
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Roosted in great numbers on rocky coastal islands
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harvested for eggs and feathers
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Museum and private collectors may have contributed to its
demise
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Great Auk
!
Small ground-dwelling ratil
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Restricted to 25km^2 island off Australia
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Arrival of humans caused stress on species
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Population was recovered by captive breeding and
offspring recruited readily to other locations around the
island
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Lord Howe Island woodhen
!
Specialized predator on prairie dogs
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Decline was due to decline of prey, loss of native habitat,
slyvatic plague, and canine distemper
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Thought to be extinct until small colony was discovered in
Wyoming
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Population recovered from captive breeding and
reintroduction
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Black-footed Ferret
!
Hunted to near extinction with only 6 animals left in a
single herd
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Number recovered as they were reintroduced but were
diminished by hunting in 1997
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Arabian Oryx
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Extinctions and Near-Extinctions in Historic Time:
Small, spatially restricted populations
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Habitat destruction or modification
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Harvesting or persecution by humans
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Exotic disease, competitors, or predators
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Climate change
!
Most Common Causes of Extinction:
Introduction & Extinction
Case Histories
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66786,9:
Document Summary
Bones of the saber tooth cat, bison, ground sloth and horses are placed on a histogram. Human bones showed up in sample as other skeletons disappeared. The rate of extinction dramatically increased in the. Consistent corroboration with other areas over the world (mostly large animals disappeared; easier to hunt and maintain populations) Therefore, this is triggered by overexploitation by humans. Extinction is correlated with body mass of animals. Emu shells --> distinct change in food plants (change of % carbon) Predations by predators (polynesian and black rat) introduced by humans. Part of a guild of large flightless birds that were endemic to. Restricted to a single island off the coast of new zealand. Known from carcasses collected by a light-house keeper on the island. One of the most common birds in na. Driven extinct through a combination of overhunting, habitat loss, and possibly allee effects by predation once numbers have dwindled.
