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Hydrological transformation coincided with megafaunal extinction in central Australia

2015; Geological Society of America; Volume: 43; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g36346.1

1943-2682

Tim J. Cohen, John D. Jansen, Luke A. Gliganic, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Jan­‐Hendrik May, Brian G. Jones, David M. Price,

Bat Biology and Ecology Studies

Research Article| March 01, 2015 Hydrological transformation coincided with megafaunal extinction in central Australia Tim J. Cohen; Tim J. Cohen * 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia *E-mail: tcohen@uow.edu.au Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar John D. Jansen; John D. Jansen 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia2Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Luke A. Gliganic; Luke A. Gliganic 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Joshua R. Larsen; Joshua R. Larsen 3School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gerald C. Nanson; Gerald C. Nanson 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jan-Hendrik May; Jan-Hendrik May 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Brian G. Jones; Brian G. Jones 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David M. Price David M. Price 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Tim J. Cohen * 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia John D. Jansen 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia2Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden Luke A. Gliganic 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Joshua R. Larsen 3School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia Gerald C. Nanson 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Jan-Hendrik May 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia Brian G. Jones 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia David M. Price 1GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia *E-mail: tcohen@uow.edu.au Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 09 Oct 2014 Revision Received: 07 Dec 2014 Accepted: 08 Dec 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (3): 195–198. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36346.1 Article history Received: 09 Oct 2014 Revision Received: 07 Dec 2014 Accepted: 08 Dec 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Tim J. Cohen, John D. Jansen, Luke A. Gliganic, Joshua R. Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Jan-Hendrik May, Brian G. Jones, David M. Price; Hydrological transformation coincided with megafaunal extinction in central Australia. Geology 2015;; 43 (3): 195–198. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36346.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Central to the debate over the extinction of many of Australia’s last surviving megafauna is the question: Was climate changing significantly when humans arrived and megafauna went extinct? Here we present a new perspective on variations in climate and water resources over the last glacial cycle in arid Australia based on the study of the continent’s largest lake basin and its tributaries. By dating paleoshorelines and river deposits in the Lake Eyre basin, we show that major hydrological change caused previously overflowing megalakes to enter a final and catastrophic drying phase at 48 ± 2 ka just as the giant bird, Genyornis newtoni, went extinct (50–45 ka). The disappearance of Genyornis and other megafauna has been previously attributed to “ecosystem collapse” coincident with the spread of fire-wielding humans. Our findings suggest a climate-driven hydrological transformation in the critical window of human arrival and megafaunal extinction, and the results call for a re-evaluation of a human-mediated cause for such extinctions in arid Australia. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.