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Dawson RR, Burns SJ, Tiger BH, McGee D, Faina P, Scroxton N, Godfrey LR, Ranivoharimanana L. Zonal control on Holocene precipitation in northwestern Madagascar based on a stalagmite from Anjohibe. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5496. [PMID: 38448499 PMCID: PMC10917758 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55909-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The Malagasy Summer Monsoon is an important part of the larger Indian Ocean and tropical monsoon region. As the effects of global warming play out, changes to precipitation in Madagascar will have important ramifications for the Malagasy people. To help understand how precipitation responds to climate changes we present a long-term Holocene speleothem record from Anjohibe, part of the Andranoboka cave system in northwestern Madagascar. To date, it is the most complete Holocene record from this region and sheds light on the nature of millennial and centennial precipitation changes in this region. We find that over the Holocene, precipitation in northwestern Madagascar is actually in phase with the Northern Hemisphere Asian monsoon on multi-millennial scales, but that during some shorter centennial-scale events such as the 8.2 ka event, Anjohibe exhibits an antiphase precipitation signal to the Northern Hemisphere. The ultimate driver of precipitation changes across the Holocene does not appear to be the meridional migration of the monsoon. Instead, zonal sea surface temperature gradients in the Indian Ocean seem to play a primary role in precipitation changes in northwestern Madagascar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin R Dawson
- Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
| | - Stephen J Burns
- Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Benjamin H Tiger
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - David McGee
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Peterson Faina
- The Climate School, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10025, USA
| | - Nick Scroxton
- Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
| | - Laurie R Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Lovasoa Ranivoharimanana
- Mention Bassins Sédimentaires, Evolution, Conservation, Faculté des Sciences, Université D'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
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Teixeira H, Le Corre M, Michon L, Nicoll MAC, Jaeger A, Nikolic N, Pinet P, Couzi FX, Humeau L. Past volcanic activity predisposes an endemic threatened seabird to negative anthropogenic impacts. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1960. [PMID: 38263429 PMCID: PMC10805739 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52556-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans are regularly cited as the main driver of current biodiversity extinction, but the impact of historic volcanic activity is often overlooked. Pre-human evidence of wildlife abundance and diversity are essential for disentangling anthropogenic impacts from natural events. Réunion Island, with its intense and well-documented volcanic activity, endemic biodiversity, long history of isolation and recent human colonization, provides an opportunity to disentangle these processes. We track past demographic changes of a critically endangered seabird, the Mascarene petrel Pseudobulweria aterrima, using genome-wide SNPs. Coalescent modeling suggested that a large ancestral population underwent a substantial population decline in two distinct phases, ca. 125,000 and 37,000 years ago, coinciding with periods of major eruptions of Piton des Neiges. Subsequently, the ancestral population was fragmented into the two known colonies, ca. 1500 years ago, following eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise. In the last century, both colonies declined significantly due to anthropogenic activities, and although the species was initially considered extinct, it was rediscovered in the 1970s. Our findings suggest that the current conservation status of wildlife on volcanic islands should be firstly assessed as a legacy of historic volcanic activity, and thereafter by the increasing anthropogenic impacts, which may ultimately drive species towards extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Teixeira
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie), 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, 97744, Saint Denis Cedex 9, Ile de La Réunion, France.
| | - Matthieu Le Corre
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie), 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, 97744, Saint Denis Cedex 9, Ile de La Réunion, France
| | - Laurent Michon
- Université de La Réunion, Laboratoire Géosciences Réunion, 97744, Saint Denis, France
- Université Paris Cité, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Malcolm A C Nicoll
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Audrey Jaeger
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie), 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, 97744, Saint Denis Cedex 9, Ile de La Réunion, France
| | | | - Patrick Pinet
- Parc National de La Réunion, Life+ Pétrels, 258 Rue de la République, 97431, Plaine des Palmistes, Réunion Island, France
| | - François-Xavier Couzi
- Société d'Etudes Ornithologiques de La Réunion (SEOR), 13 ruelle des Orchidées, 97440, Saint André, Réunion Island, France
| | - Laurence Humeau
- UMR PVBMT (Université de La Réunion, CIRAD), 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, 97744, Saint Denis Cedex 9, Ile de La Réunion, France
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3
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Alva O, Leroy A, Heiske M, Pereda-Loth V, Tisseyre L, Boland A, Deleuze JF, Rocha J, Schlebusch C, Fortes-Lima C, Stoneking M, Radimilahy C, Rakotoarisoa JA, Letellier T, Pierron D. The loss of biodiversity in Madagascar is contemporaneous with major demographic events. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4997-5007.e5. [PMID: 36334586 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Only 400 km off the coast of East Africa, the island of Madagascar is one of the last large land masses to have been colonized by humans. While many questions surround the human occupation of Madagascar, recent studies raise the question of human impact on endemic biodiversity and landscape transformation. Previous genetic and linguistic analyses have shown that the Malagasy population has emerged from an admixture that happened during the last millennium, between Bantu-speaking African populations and Austronesian-speaking Asian populations. By studying the sharing of chromosome segments between individuals (IBD determination), local ancestry information, and simulated genetic data, we inferred that the Malagasy ancestral Asian population was isolated for more than 1,000 years with an effective size of just a few hundred individuals. This isolation ended around 1,000 years before present (BP) by admixture with a small African population. Around the admixture time, there was a rapid demographic expansion due to intrinsic population growth of the newly admixed population, which coincides with extensive changes in Madagascar's landscape and the extinction of all endemic large-bodied vertebrates. Therefore, our approach can provide new insights into past human demography and associated impacts on ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Alva
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Anaïs Leroy
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Margit Heiske
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Veronica Pereda-Loth
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Lenka Tisseyre
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Anne Boland
- Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Institut Génomique, Centre National de Génotypage, 91000 Evry, France
| | - Jean-François Deleuze
- Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Institut Génomique, Centre National de Génotypage, 91000 Evry, France
| | - Jorge Rocha
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Carina Schlebusch
- Human Evolution, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Cesar Fortes-Lima
- Human Evolution, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18C, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark Stoneking
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Chantal Radimilahy
- Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | - Thierry Letellier
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Denis Pierron
- Équipe de Médecine Evolutive, EVOLSAN faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France.
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Cutmarked bone of drought-tolerant extinct megafauna deposited with traces of fire, human foraging, and introduced animals in SW Madagascar. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18504. [PMID: 36414654 PMCID: PMC9681754 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22980-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
People could have hunted Madagascar's megafauna to extinction, particularly when introduced taxa and drought exacerbated the effects of predation. However, such explanations are difficult to test due to the scarcity of individual sites with unambiguous traces of humans, introduced taxa, and endemic megaherbivores. We excavated three coastal ponds in arid SW Madagascar and present a unique combination of traces of human activity (modified pygmy hippo bone, processed estuarine shell and fish bone, and charcoal), along with bones of extinct megafauna (giant tortoises, pygmy hippos, and elephant birds), extirpated fauna (e.g., crocodiles), and introduced vertebrates (e.g., zebu cattle). The disappearance of megafauna from the study sites at ~ 1000 years ago followed a relatively arid interval and closely coincides with increasingly frequent traces of human foraging, fire, and pastoralism. Our analyses fail to document drought-associated extirpation or multiple millennia of megafauna hunting and suggest that a late combination of hunting, forest clearance, and pastoralism drove extirpations.
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Estrada A, Garber PA, Gouveia S, Fernández-Llamazares Á, Ascensão F, Fuentes A, Garnett ST, Shaffer C, Bicca-Marques J, Fa JE, Hockings K, Shanee S, Johnson S, Shepard GH, Shanee N, Golden CD, Cárdenas-Navarrete A, Levey DR, Boonratana R, Dobrovolski R, Chaudhary A, Ratsimbazafy J, Supriatna J, Kone I, Volampeno S. Global importance of Indigenous Peoples, their lands, and knowledge systems for saving the world's primates from extinction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn2927. [PMID: 35947670 PMCID: PMC9365284 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn2927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Primates, represented by 521 species, are distributed across 91 countries primarily in the Neotropic, Afrotropic, and Indo-Malayan realms. Primates inhabit a wide range of habitats and play critical roles in sustaining healthy ecosystems that benefit human and nonhuman communities. Approximately 68% of primate species are threatened with extinction because of global pressures to convert their habitats for agricultural production and the extraction of natural resources. Here, we review the scientific literature and conduct a spatial analysis to assess the significance of Indigenous Peoples' lands in safeguarding primate biodiversity. We found that Indigenous Peoples' lands account for 30% of the primate range, and 71% of primate species inhabit these lands. As their range on these lands increases, primate species are less likely to be classified as threatened or have declining populations. Safeguarding Indigenous Peoples' lands, languages, and cultures represents our greatest chance to prevent the extinction of the world's primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Estrada
- Institute of Biology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Paul A. Garber
- Department of Anthropology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Sidney Gouveia
- Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão - SE, Brazil
| | | | - Fernando Ascensão
- cE3c—Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C2, 5° Piso, Sala 2.5.46, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Agustin Fuentes
- Department of Anthropology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Stephen T. Garnett
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, College of Engineering, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0909, Australia
| | - Christopher Shaffer
- Department of Anthropology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI 49401, USA
| | | | - Julia E. Fa
- School of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), CIFOR Headquarters, Bogor 16115, Indonesia
| | | | - Sam Shanee
- Neotropical Primate Conservation, London, UK
| | - Steig Johnson
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Glenn H. Shepard
- Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belém do Para, Brazil
- Programa de Pós Graduação em Antropologia Social, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
- Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5102, USA
| | | | - Christopher D. Golden
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Dallas R. Levey
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- National Autonomous University of Mexico, Institute of Biology, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Ramesh Boonratana
- Mahidol University International College, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
| | | | - Abhishek Chaudhary
- Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India
| | - Jonah Ratsimbazafy
- Groupe d’étude et de recherche sur les primates (Gerp), Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Jatna Supriatna
- Graduate Program in Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia
| | - Inza Kone
- Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
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Joseph GS, Rakotoarivelo AR, Seymour CL. Tipping points induced by palaeo-human impacts can explain presence of savannah in Malagasy and global systems where forest is expected. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212771. [PMID: 35350853 PMCID: PMC8965410 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Models aimed at understanding C4-savannah distribution for Australia, Africa and South America support transition to forest at high mean annual precipitation (MAP), and savannah grasslands of Madagascar have recently been reported to be similarly limited. Yet, when savannah/grassland presence data are plotted against MAP for the various ecosystems across the Malagasy Central Highlands, the relationship does not hold. Furthermore, it does not always hold in other sites on other continents. Instead, in high-rainfall savannahs, palaeo-human impacts appear to have selected a fire-adapted habitat, creating tipping points that allow savannah persistence despite high rainfall, suppressing forest return. We conducted the largest systematic literature review to date for global evidence of palaeo-human impacts in savannahs, and conclude that impacts are widespread and should be incorporated into models aimed at understanding savannah persistence at elevated precipitation, particularly as more palaeodata emerges. Building on existing studies, we refine the MAP savannah relationship at higher MAP. Palaeoanthropogenic impact can help explain inconsistencies in the savannah/forest boundary at higher MAP, and points to a key role for palaeoecology in understanding systems. Including these effects presents a crucial change to our understanding of factors determining global savannah distribution, supporting a human hand in much of their formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant S. Joseph
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Andrinajoro R. Rakotoarivelo
- Afro-mountain Research Unit, The University of the Free State Qwaqwa, Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba 9866, Republic of South Africa,Natiora Ahy, Lot IIU57 K Bis, Ampahibe, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - Colleen L. Seymour
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa,South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, South Africa
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Reinhardt AL, Kasper T, Lochner M, Bliedtner M, Krahn KJ, Haberzettl T, Shumilovskikh L, Rahobisoa JJ, Zech R, Favier C, Behling H, Bremond L, Daut G, Montade V. Rain Forest Fragmentation and Environmental Dynamics on Nosy Be Island (NW Madagascar) at 1300 cal BP Is Attributable to Intensified Human Impact. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.783770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Madagascar houses one of the Earth’s biologically richest, but also one of most endangered, terrestrial ecoregions. Although it is obvious that humans substantially altered the natural ecosystems during the past decades, the timing of arrival of early inhabitants on Madagascar as well as their environmental impact is still intensively debated. This research aims to study the beginning of early human impact on Malagasy natural ecosystems, specifically on Nosy Be island (NW Madagascar) by targeting the sedimentary archive of Lake Amparihibe, an ancient volcanic crater. Based on pollen, fungal spore, other non-pollen palynomorph, charcoal particle and diatom analyses combined with high-resolution sediment-physical and (in)organic geochemical data, paleoenvironmental dynamics during the past three millennia were reconstructed. Results indicate a major environmental change at ca. 1300 cal BP characterized by an abrupt development of grass (C4) dominated and fire disturbed landscape showing the alteration of natural rain forest. Further, increased soil erodibility is suggested by distinct increase in sediment accumulation rates, a strong pulse of nutrient input, higher water turbidity and contemporaneous increase in spores of mycorrhizal fungi. These parameters are interpreted to show a strong early anthropogenic transformation of the landscape from rain forest to open grassland. After ca. 1000 cal BP, fires remain frequent and vegetation is dominated by forest/grassland mosaic. While natural vegetation should be dominated by rain forest on Nosy Be, these last results indicate that human continuously impacted the landscapes surrounding the lake. At a local scale, our data support the “subsistence shift hypothesis” which proposed that population expansion with development of herding/farming altered the natural ecosystems. However, a precise regional synthesis is challenging, since high-resolution multi-proxy records from continuous sedimentary archives as well as records located further north and in the hinterland are still scarce in Madagascar. The lack of such regional synthesis also prevents precise comparison between different regions in Madagascar to detect potential (dis)similarities in climate dynamics, ecosystem responses and anthropogenic influences at the island’s scale during the (late) Holocene.
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Brosens L, Broothaerts N, Campforts B, Jacobs L, Razanamahandry VF, Van Moerbeke Q, Bouillon S, Razafimbelo T, Rafolisy T, Govers G. Under pressure: Rapid lavaka erosion and floodplain sedimentation in central Madagascar. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:150483. [PMID: 34597548 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Lavaka (gullies) are often considered as the prime indication of a currently ongoing human-induced environmental crisis in Madagascar's highlands. Yet, lavaka are known to have existed long before human arrival and account for the majority of the long-term sediment input into the highland rivers and floodplains. The role of anthropogenic disturbances in their formation therefore remains highly debated and it is unclear whether lavaka erosion has recently increased. Here, we address these questions by evaluating the dynamics of lavaka in the Lake Alaotra region (central Madagascar). An overall birth to stabilization ratio of 6.1 indicates a rapid lavaka population growth over the period 1949-2010s. Using data on lavaka development we calculated a mean lavaka population age of 410 ± 40 years and estimate that the disequilibrium started at 870 ± 430 cal. BP. Floodplain sedimentation starts to increase around 1000 cal. BP and peaks over the last 400 years, thereby independently confirming this time frame of increased lavaka activity. Lavaka population dynamics modelling shows that a strong increase in environmental pressure over the last centuries is needed to attain current disequilibrium levels. A general drying of the climate since 950 cal. BP in combination with the introduction of cattle and growing human presence around 1000 cal. BP will likely have triggered the increase in lavaka erosion. However, the recent acceleration cannot be explained by climatic changes alone and seems to be linked to increased anthropogenic pressure on the environment. As such, we offer a fresh and quantitatively supported perspective on lavaka dynamics and human impact in central Madagascar, where our methodology can be used in other locations where similar questions on geomorphic equilibrium need to be answered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liesa Brosens
- Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Nils Broothaerts
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Benjamin Campforts
- Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - Liesbet Jacobs
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Steven Bouillon
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tantely Razafimbelo
- Laboratoire des Radio Isotopes, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Tovonarivo Rafolisy
- Laboratoire des Radio Isotopes, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Gerard Govers
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Tofanelli S, Bertoncini S, Donati G. Early Human Colonization, Climate Change and Megafaunal Extinction in Madagascar: The Contribution of Genetics in a Framework of Reciprocal Causations. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.708345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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10
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Domic AI, Hixon SW, Velez MI, Ivory SJ, Douglass KG, Brenner M, Curtis JH, Culleton BJ, Kennett DJ. Influence of Late Holocene Climate Change and Human Land Use on Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems in Southwest Madagascar. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.688512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Madagascar’s biota underwent substantial change following human colonization of the island in the Late Holocene. The timing of human arrival and its role in the extinction of megafauna have received considerable attention. However, the impacts of human activities on regional ecosystems remain poorly studied. Here, we focus on reconstructing changes in the composition of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to evaluate the impact of human land use and climate variability. We conducted a paleoenvironmental study, using a sediment record that spans the last ∼1,145 years, collected from a lakebed in the Namonte Basin of southwest Madagascar. We examined physical (X-ray fluorescence and stratigraphy) and biotic indicators (pollen, diatoms and micro- and macro-charcoal particles) to infer terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem change. The fossil pollen data indicate that composition of grasslands and dry deciduous forest in the region remained relatively stable during an arid event associated with northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) between ∼1,145 and 555 calibrated calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Charcoal particles indicate that widespread fires occurred in the region, resulting from a combination of climate drivers and human agency during the entire span covered by the paleorecord. Following settlement by pastoral communities and the disappearance of endemic megafauna ∼1,000 cal yr BP, grasslands expanded and the abundance of trees that rely on large animals for seed dispersal gradually declined. A reduction in the abundance of pollen taxa characteristic of dry forest coincided with an abrupt increase in charcoal particles between ∼230 and 35 cal yr BP, when agro-pastoral communities immigrated into the region. Deforestation and soil erosion, indicated by a relatively rapid sedimentation rate and high K/Zr and Fe/Zr, intensified between 180 and 70 cal yr BP and caused a consequent increase in lake turbidity, resulting in more rapid turnover of the aquatic diatom community. Land use and ongoing climate change have continued to transform local terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems during the last ∼70 years. The current composition of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems reflects the legacy of extinction of native biota, invasion of exotic species, and diminished use of traditional land management practices.
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Zhang H, Cheng H, Sinha A, Spötl C, Cai Y, Liu B, Kathayat G, Li H, Tian Y, Li Y, Zhao J, Sha L, Lu J, Meng B, Niu X, Dong X, Liang Z, Zong B, Ning Y, Lan J, Edwards RL. Collapse of the Liangzhu and other Neolithic cultures in the lower Yangtze region in response to climate change. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabi9275. [PMID: 34826247 PMCID: PMC8626068 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi9275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Liangzhu culture in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) was among the world’s most advanced Neolithic cultures. Archeological evidence suggests that the Liangzhu ancient city was abandoned, and the culture collapsed at ~4300 years ago. Here, we present speleothem records from southeastern China in conjunction with other paleoclimatic and archeological data to show that the Liangzhu culture collapsed within a short and anomalously wet period between 4345 ± 32 and 4324 ± 30 years ago, supporting the hypothesis that the city was abandoned after large-scale flooding and inundation. We further show that the demise of Neolithic cultures in the YRD occurred within an extended period of aridity that started at ~4000 ± 45 years ago. We suggest that the major hydroclimatic changes between 4300 and 3000 years ago may have resulted from an increasing frequency of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation in the context of weakened Northern Hemisphere summer insolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiwei Zhang
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
| | - Hai Cheng
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
- Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources, Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 541004 Guilin, China
| | - Ashish Sinha
- Department of Earth Science, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747, USA
| | - Christoph Spötl
- Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
| | - Bin Liu
- School of Art and Archaeology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China
| | - Gayatri Kathayat
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Hanying Li
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Ye Tian
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Youwei Li
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Jingyao Zhao
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Lijuan Sha
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Jiayu Lu
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Binglin Meng
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Xiaowen Niu
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Xiyu Dong
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Zeyuan Liang
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Baoyun Zong
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Youfeng Ning
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, China
| | - Jianghu Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
| | - R. Lawrence Edwards
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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12
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Drought Coincided with, but Does Not Explain, Late Holocene Megafauna Extinctions in SW Madagascar. CLIMATE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cli9090138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Climate drying could have transformed ecosystems in southern Madagascar during recent millennia by contributing to the extinction of endemic megafauna. However, the extent of regional aridification during the past 2000 years is poorly known, as are the responses of endemic animals and economically important livestock to drying. We inferred ~1600 years of climate change around Lake Ranobe, SW Madagascar, using oxygen isotope analyses of monospecific freshwater ostracods (Bradleystrandesia cf. fuscata) and elemental analyses of lake core sediment. We inferred past changes in habitat and diet of introduced and extinct endemic megaherbivores using bone collagen stable isotope and 14C datasets (n = 63). Extinct pygmy hippos and multiple giant lemur species disappeared from the vicinity of Ranobe during a dry interval ~1000–700 cal yr BP, but the simultaneous appearance of introduced cattle, high charcoal concentrations, and other evidence of human activity confound inference of drought-driven extirpations. Unlike the endemic megafauna, relatively low collagen stable nitrogen isotope values among cattle suggest they survived dry intervals by exploiting patches of wet habitat. Although megafaunal extirpations coincided with drought in SW Madagascar, coupled data from bone and lake sediments do not support the hypothesis that extinct megafauna populations collapsed solely because of drought. Given that the reliance of livestock on mesic patches will become more important in the face of projected climate drying, we argue that sustainable conservation of spiny forests in SW Madagascar should support local livelihoods by ensuring that zebu have access to mesic habitat. Additionally, the current interactions between pastoralism and riparian habitats should be studied to help conserve the island’s biodiversity.
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13
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Voarintsoa NRG, Ratovonanahary ALJ, Rakotovao AZM, Bouillon S. Understanding the linkage between regional climatology and cave geochemical parameters to calibrate speleothem proxies in Madagascar. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 784:147181. [PMID: 34088058 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Robust reconstructions of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental changes using stalagmite proxy records critically depend on detailed observations of the transfer function between the regional climate/environment, the karst aquifer hydrology, and finally the cave microclimate via monitoring, which is currently lacking in Madagascar. This paper reports the first monitoring study performed in Anjohibe Cave, in Mahajanga, NW Madagascar to understand the linkage between regional climatological changes and cave responses to such changes. In this research, we monitored (1) the drip water pH, TDS, EC, temperature, δ13CDIC, δ18Ow, δ2Hw, and elemental (Ca, Mg, Sr) composition, and (2) the cave atmosphere pCO2, relative humidity (RH) and temperature. Three significant findings were drawn from the results. First, the data show that air-to-air transfer is fast, and the internal parameters closely vary with the regional climatology. Second, rainfall to drip signal transfer is not immediate, and it can take few months to one season for the signals to be detected in the drip water due to the "epikarst storage effect". Lastly, CaCO3 precipitation is likely to occur during the winter-summer transition, during which prior carbonate precipitation was detected. Since the growth of speleothems is influenced by numerous cave-specific factors, this study, although preliminary, indicates that Anjohibe Cave drip waters are capable of registering changes in its surrounding environment. Such information is ultimately archived in speleothems to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental changes. Results from this research will be of high significance for those working on speleothems within Madagascar, and for those working on understanding the transfer of climatic variations to cave deposits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ny Riavo G Voarintsoa
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Belgium; Geological Society of Madagascar, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.
| | - Antsa Lal'Aina J Ratovonanahary
- Geological Society of Madagascar, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar; Mention Bassins Sédimentaires Evolution Conservation, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Avotriniaina Z M Rakotovao
- Geological Society of Madagascar, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar; Mention Bassins Sédimentaires Evolution Conservation, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Steven Bouillon
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Belgium
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14
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Nogué S, Santos AMC, Birks HJB, Björck S, Castilla-Beltrán A, Connor S, de Boer EJ, de Nascimento L, Felde VA, Fernández-Palacios JM, Froyd CA, Haberle SG, Hooghiemstra H, Ljung K, Norder SJ, Peñuelas J, Prebble M, Stevenson J, Whittaker RJ, Willis KJ, Wilmshurst JM, Steinbauer MJ. The human dimension of biodiversity changes on islands. Science 2021; 372:488-491. [PMID: 33926949 DOI: 10.1126/science.abd6706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Islands are among the last regions on Earth settled and transformed by human activities, and they provide replicated model systems for analysis of how people affect ecological functions. By analyzing 27 representative fossil pollen sequences encompassing the past 5000 years from islands globally, we quantified the rates of vegetation compositional change before and after human arrival. After human arrival, rates of turnover accelerate by a median factor of 11, with faster rates on islands colonized in the past 1500 years than for those colonized earlier. This global anthropogenic acceleration in turnover suggests that islands are on trajectories of continuing change. Strategies for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration must acknowledge the long duration of human impacts and the degree to which ecological changes today differ from prehuman dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Nogué
- School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
| | - Ana M C Santos
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal/Azores Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal.,Global Change Ecology and Evolution Group (GloCEE), Department of Life Sciences, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.,Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - H John B Birks
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.,Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Svante Björck
- Department of Geology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Alvaro Castilla-Beltrán
- School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Simon Connor
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.,Australian Research Center (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Erik J de Boer
- Departament d'Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geociències Marines, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Lea de Nascimento
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), 38200 La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.,Long-term Ecology Laboratory, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, 7640 Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Vivian A Felde
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - José María Fernández-Palacios
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), 38200 La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Cynthia A Froyd
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Simon G Haberle
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.,Australian Research Center (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Henry Hooghiemstra
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, 1098XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Karl Ljung
- Department of Geology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Sietze J Norder
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Matthew Prebble
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.,School of Earth and Environment, College of Science, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Janelle Stevenson
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.,Australian Research Center (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Robert J Whittaker
- School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.,Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Kathy J Willis
- Oxford Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Janet M Wilmshurst
- Long-term Ecology Laboratory, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, 7640 Lincoln, New Zealand.,School of Environment, University of Auckland, 1142 Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Manuel J Steinbauer
- Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) and Department of Sport Science, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany. .,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
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15
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StalGrowth—A Program to Estimate Speleothem Growth Rates and Seasonal Growth Variations. GEOSCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/geosciences11050187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Speleothems are one of the few archives which allow us to reconstruct the terrestrial paleoclimate and help us to understand the important climate dynamics in inhabited regions of our planet. Their time of growth can be precisely dated by radiometric techniques, but unfortunately seasonal radiometric dating resolution is so far not feasible. Numerous cave environmental monitoring studies show evidence for significant seasonal variations in parameters influencing carbonate deposition (calcium-ion concentration, cave air pCO2, drip rate and temperature). Variations in speleothem deposition rates need to be known in order to correctly decipher the climate signal stored in the speleothem archive. StalGrowth is the first software to quantify growth rates based on cave monitoring results, detect growth seasonality and estimate the seasonal growth bias. It quickly plots the predicted speleothem growth rate together with the influencing cave environmental parameters to identify which parameter(s) cause changes in speleothem growth rate, and it can also identify periods of no growth. This new program has been applied to multiannual cave monitoring studies in Austria, Gibraltar, Puerto Rico and Texas, and it has identified two cases of seasonal varying speleothem growth.
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