The Aftermath of Megafaunal Extinction: Ecosystem Transformation in Pleistocene Australia
@article{Rule2012TheAO, title={The Aftermath of Megafaunal Extinction: Ecosystem Transformation in Pleistocene Australia}, author={Susan Rule and Barry W. Brook and Simon Graeme Haberle and Chris S. M. Turney and A. Peter Kershaw and Christopher N. Johnson}, journal={Science}, year={2012}, volume={335}, pages={1483 - 1486} }
Human Impact? Following the arrival of humans in Australia 40- to 50,000 years ago, many species of large vertebrates rapidly became extinct. By analyzing sediment cores from a site in northeastern Australia, Rule et al. (p. 1483; see the Perspective by McGlone) show that the extinction of the Australian megafauna caused important ecosystem shifts. Prominent among these were a shift from rainforest vegetation to sclerophyllous vegetation and a sustained increase in the incidence of fire. The…
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