ARCA2020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Australian Megafauna, Richard Daintree, Megafaunal Wolf
30 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
Sea level drop of 130m compared to today - completely changes the ecosystem. Lived on land: does not include dinosaurs :, quaternary terrestrial: Low-angled triangular shape of molars from side-view: grazer (grass eater) Two transverse ridges that run perpendicular to the length of the teeth- much longer and sharper than bunodont teeth: carnivore. Week 5 lecture: australia had around 90 ice age giants. 2 dominant hypotheses about extinction: humans (tim flannery, climate change (richard daintree) Rapid overkill: human migration to sahul (~100 ka - ~65ka, human arrival (~45-~65 ka, rapid overkill after human arrival, <500 years, megafauna extinction tracked by human dispersal pattern. Large species reproduce slowly- likely the first to go extinct: human impacts on islands well documented. Climate change: glaciers in northern hemisphere- not a huge issue in australia, arid landscapes in australia- cool and dry, massive droughts, waterhole tethering.
