Revisiting the Foraging Ecology and Extinction History of Two Endemic Vertebrates from Tenerife, Canary Islands
Autor: | Juan Carlos Rando, Brooke E. Crowley, Stella G. Mosher, Yurena Yanes |
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Rok vydání: | 2019 |
Předmět: |
Sympatry
010506 paleontology nitrogen isotopes Buenavista del Norte 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Gallotia goliath Foraging Canary Islands lcsh:GN281-289 Canariomys 01 natural sciences law.invention Canariomys bravoi carbon isotopes bone collagen radiocarbon date Cueva del Viento Icod lcsh:Stratigraphy law Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Radiocarbon dating lcsh:QE640-699 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Earth-Surface Processes Trophic level Extinction biology Ecology Gallotia galloti biology.organism_classification Geography lcsh:Human evolution |
Zdroj: | Quaternary, Vol 2, Iss 1, p 10 (2019) Quaternary; Volume 2; Issue 1; Pages: 10 |
ISSN: | 2571-550X |
DOI: | 10.3390/quat2010010 |
Popis: | We used carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes to examine the foraging ecology of Tenerife giant rats (Canariomys bravoi) and lizards (Gallotia goliath) in northwestern Tenerife, which until recently, were the island’s largest terrestrial vertebrates. We combined new isotope data for 28 C. bravoi and 14 G. goliath with published regional data for both species and then compared these with data for co-occurring extant taxa and modern C3 plants. Isotope data suggest both extinct species relied primarily on C3 resources and were trophic omnivores. However, the two species appear to have partitioned their resources when living in sympatry. Isotopic overlap between C. bravoi and Rattus spp., and between G. goliath, extant Gallotia galloti, and introduced rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) suggests reliance on similar foods. We radiocarbon dated four C. bravoi and two G. goliath with the most extreme isotope values. These new dates do not settle the question of what triggered the demise of either species. Nevertheless, the data are most consistent with anthropogenically-induced extinction. Temporal isotopic trends contradict expectations if regional climate were responsible, and confidence intervals for radiocarbon dates suggest it is highly likely that both species were present when humans first settled the island. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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