Mid-Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) |
| |
| Authors: | Kenneth F Rijsdijk Julian P Hume Frans Bunnik FB Vincent Florens Claudia Baider Beth Shapiro Johannes van der Plicht Anwar Janoo Owen Griffiths Lars W van den Hoek Ostende Holger Cremer Tamara Vernimmen Perry GB De Louw Assenjee Bholah Salem Saumtally Nicolas Porch James Haile Mike Buckley Matthew Collins Edmund Gittenberger |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Geology Department, National Museum of Natural History ‘Naturalis’, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;2. Computational Geo-Ecology Group, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;3. TNO, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB, Utrecht, The Netherlands;4. Palaeobiology Research Group, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK;5. Bird Group, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum at Tring, Akeman Street, Tring, Herts HP23 6AP, UK;6. Department of Biosciences, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius;7. Mauritius Herbarium, Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, Réduit, Mauritius;8. Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA;9. Center for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, and Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, The Netherlands;10. National Heritage Fund Mauritius, 12 Edith Cavell Street, Port Louis, Mauritius;11. Bioculture (Mauritius) Ltd, Senneville, Rivière des Anguilles, Mauritius;12. BotanicAll Archaeobotanical Research, Tuinstraat 27A, 1544 RS Zaandijk, The Netherlands;13. Agronomy Department, Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, Réduit, Mauritius;14. Department of Archaeology and Natural History, RSPAS, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia;15. BioArch, Biology and Archaeology, S Block, PO Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK;p. Subsurface and Groundwater systems Unit, Deltares, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB, Utrecht, The Netherlands;1. Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China;2. Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogi und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany;3. Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk, Al. Pilsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland;4. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Minerals, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong 266590, China;1. Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands;2. Department of Biosciences, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius;3. The Mauritius Herbarium, Agricultural Services, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Réduit, Mauritius;4. Integrative Ecology Group, Bascompte Lab, Sevilla, Spain;5. School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen''s University of Belfast, Belfast, UK;6. Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden |
| |
| Abstract: | Although the recent history of human colonisation and impact on Mauritius is well documented, virtually no records of the pre-human native ecosystem exist, making it difficult to assess the magnitude of the changes brought about by human settlement. Here, we describe a 4000-year-old fossil bed at Mare aux Songes (MAS) in south-eastern Mauritius that contains both macrofossils (vertebrate fauna, gastropods, insects and flora) and microfossils (diatoms, pollen, spores and phytoliths). With >250 bone fragments/m2 and comprising 50% of all known extinct and extant vertebrate species (ns = 44) of Mauritius, MAS may constitute the first Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte identified on an oceanic volcanic island. Fossil remains are dominated by extinct giant tortoises Cylindraspis spp. (63%), passerines (～10%), small bats (7.8%) and dodo Raphus cucullatus (7.1%). Twelve radiocarbon ages four of them duplicates] from bones and other material suggest that accumulation of fossils took place within several centuries. An exceptional combination of abiotic conditions led to preservation of bones, bone collagen, plant tissue and microfossils. Although bone collagen is well preserved, DNA from dodo and other Mauritian vertebrates has proved difficult. Our analysis suggests that from ca 4000 years ago (4 ka), rising sea levels created a freshwater lake at MAS, generating an oasis in an otherwise dry environment which attracted a diverse vertebrate fauna. Subsequent aridification in the south-west Indian Ocean region may have increased carcass accumulation during droughts, contributing to the exceptionally high fossil concentration. The abundance of floral and faunal remains in this Lagerstätte offers a unique opportunity to reconstruct a pre-human ecosystem on an oceanic island, providing a key foundation for assessing the vulnerability of island ecosystems to human impact. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
