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Climate change frames debate over the extinction of megafauna in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea)

Stephen Wroe, Judith H. Field, Michael Archer, Donald K. Grayson, Gilbert J. Price, Julien Louys, J. Tyler Faith, Gregory E. Webb, Iain Davidson, and Scott D. Mooney
PNAS May 28, 2013 110 (22) 8777-8781; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1302698110
Stephen Wroe
aSchool of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
bSchool of Engineering, University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia;
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Judith H. Field
aSchool of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
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  • For correspondence: judith.field@unsw.edu.au
Michael Archer
aSchool of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
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Donald K. Grayson
cDepartment of Anthropology and Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
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Gilbert J. Price
dSchool of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
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Julien Louys
dSchool of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
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J. Tyler Faith
eSchool of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; and
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Gregory E. Webb
dSchool of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
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Iain Davidson
fSchool of Humanities, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
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Scott D. Mooney
aSchool of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
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  1. Edited by James O’Connell, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, and approved April 9, 2013 (received for review February 12, 2013)

This article has a Letter. Please see:

  • Lack of chronological support for stepwise prehuman extinctions of Australian megafauna - July 25, 2013

See related content:

  • No evidence for human overkill of Sahul megafauna
    - Jul 25, 2013
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Abstract

Around 88 large vertebrate taxa disappeared from Sahul sometime during the Pleistocene, with the majority of losses (54 taxa) clearly taking place within the last 400,000 years. The largest was the 2.8-ton browsing Diprotodon optatum, whereas the ∼100- to 130-kg marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, the world’s most specialized mammalian carnivore, and Varanus priscus, the largest lizard known, were formidable predators. Explanations for these extinctions have centered on climatic change or human activities. Here, we review the evidence and arguments for both. Human involvement in the disappearance of some species remains possible but unproven. Mounting evidence points to the loss of most species before the peopling of Sahul (circa 50–45 ka) and a significant role for climate change in the disappearance of the continent’s megafauna.

  • megafauna extinction
  • Pleistocene extinctions
  • archaeology
  • human colonization
  • faunal turnover

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: judith.field{at}unsw.edu.au.
  • Author contributions: S.W. and J.H.F. designed research; S.W., J.H.F., G.J.P., and J.L. performed research; G.J.P., J.L., J.T.F., and S.D.M. analyzed data; and S.W., J.H.F., M.A., D.K.G., J.T.F., G.E.W., I.D., and S.D.M. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1302698110/-/DCSupplemental.

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Climate change and megafaunal extinction in Sahul
Stephen Wroe, Judith H. Field, Michael Archer, Donald K. Grayson, Gilbert J. Price, Julien Louys, J. Tyler Faith, Gregory E. Webb, Iain Davidson, Scott D. Mooney
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 2013, 110 (22) 8777-8781; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302698110

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Climate change and megafaunal extinction in Sahul
Stephen Wroe, Judith H. Field, Michael Archer, Donald K. Grayson, Gilbert J. Price, Julien Louys, J. Tyler Faith, Gregory E. Webb, Iain Davidson, Scott D. Mooney
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 2013, 110 (22) 8777-8781; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302698110
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  • Biological Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Physical Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

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    • Late Pleistocene Fauna and Extinction Chronologies
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