ESPM 50AC Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Quaternary Extinction Event, Mastodon
14 Mar 2018
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Kat anderson california indians (cid:862)a sophisti(cid:272)ated u(cid:374)dersta(cid:374)di(cid:374)g of the i(cid:374)(cid:374)er (cid:449)orki(cid:374)gs of (cid:374)ature a(cid:272)ted deli(cid:271)erately to sustai(cid:374), (cid:374)ot degrade, e(cid:272)ologi(cid:272)al syste(cid:373)s. (cid:863) Decrease detritus/recycle nutrients/control insects & pathogens/manage wildlife/modify stand structure/maintain habitat for shade-intolerant plants (cid:862)by keepi(cid:374)g e(cid:272)osystems in a modest or intermediate level of disturbance, in many se(cid:374)ses i(cid:374)dia(cid:374)s li(cid:448)ed i(cid:374) e(cid:272)ologi(cid:272)al har(cid:373)o(cid:374)y (cid:449)ith (cid:374)ature(cid:863) Pleistocene extinctions, megafauna mastodon, deer, beaver, buffalo. Fire got out of control/not extinguished (especially in grasslands) Burning changed ecosystems, sometimes damaging populations and limiting biodiversity: degradation was limited by small populations and low-impact technologies. Over-hunting and non-use of prey was common when possible. Indian nr management sometimes drove ecosystem degradation: e. g. fires got out of control. Not ecologists: certainty: operated under a great degree of uncertainty, prediction: often did not (always) know how their actions might impact species and ecosystems. Not conservationists: killed more than they could use/fires raged out of control/wasteful.
