Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds
Advances in technology have equipped paleobiologists with new analytical tools to assess the fossil record. The functional traits of vertebrates have been used to infer paleoenvironmental conditions. In Quaternary deposits, birds are the second-most-studied group after mammals. They are considered a...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/881 |
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| author | J. Alberto Cruz Julián A. Velasco Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales Eileen Johnson |
| author_facet | J. Alberto Cruz Julián A. Velasco Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales Eileen Johnson |
| author_sort | J. Alberto Cruz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Advances in technology have equipped paleobiologists with new analytical tools to assess the fossil record. The functional traits of vertebrates have been used to infer paleoenvironmental conditions. In Quaternary deposits, birds are the second-most-studied group after mammals. They are considered a poor paleoambiental proxy because their high vagility and phenotypic plasticity allow them to respond more effectively to climate change. Investigating multiple groups is important, but it is not often attempted. Biogeographical and climatic niche information concerning small mammals, reptiles, and birds have been used to infer the paleoclimatic conditions present during the Late Pleistocene at San Josecito Cave (~28,000 <sup>14</sup>C years BP), Mexico. Warmer and dryer conditions are inferred with respect to the present. The use of all of the groups of small vertebrates is recommended because they represent an assemblage of species that have gone through a series of environmental filters in the past. Individually, different vertebrate groups provide different paleoclimatic information. Birds are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation but not paleotemperature. Together, reptiles and small mammals are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature, but reptiles alone are a bad proxy, and mammals alone are a good proxy for inferring paleotemperature and precipitation. The current paleoclimatic results coupled with those of a previous vegetation structure analysis indicate the presence of non-analog paleoenvironmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene in the San Josecito Cave area. This situation would explain the presence of a disharmonious fauna and the extinction of several taxa when these conditions later disappeared and do not reappear again. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:08:53Z |
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| id | doaj.art-8b5eeb6e8eb44a75979fb8b04ae1ad7e |
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| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:08:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b5eeb6e8eb44a75979fb8b04ae1ad7e2023-11-18T19:00:34ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-07-0115788110.3390/d15070881Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and BirdsJ. Alberto Cruz0Julián A. Velasco1Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales2Eileen Johnson3Coordinación Nacional de Arqueología, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Ciudad de México 06700, MexicoInstituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, MexicoLaboratorio de Arqueozoología, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Ciudad de México 06060, MexicoMuseum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3191, USAAdvances in technology have equipped paleobiologists with new analytical tools to assess the fossil record. The functional traits of vertebrates have been used to infer paleoenvironmental conditions. In Quaternary deposits, birds are the second-most-studied group after mammals. They are considered a poor paleoambiental proxy because their high vagility and phenotypic plasticity allow them to respond more effectively to climate change. Investigating multiple groups is important, but it is not often attempted. Biogeographical and climatic niche information concerning small mammals, reptiles, and birds have been used to infer the paleoclimatic conditions present during the Late Pleistocene at San Josecito Cave (~28,000 <sup>14</sup>C years BP), Mexico. Warmer and dryer conditions are inferred with respect to the present. The use of all of the groups of small vertebrates is recommended because they represent an assemblage of species that have gone through a series of environmental filters in the past. Individually, different vertebrate groups provide different paleoclimatic information. Birds are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation but not paleotemperature. Together, reptiles and small mammals are a good proxy for inferring paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature, but reptiles alone are a bad proxy, and mammals alone are a good proxy for inferring paleotemperature and precipitation. The current paleoclimatic results coupled with those of a previous vegetation structure analysis indicate the presence of non-analog paleoenvironmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene in the San Josecito Cave area. This situation would explain the presence of a disharmonious fauna and the extinction of several taxa when these conditions later disappeared and do not reappear again.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/881paleoecologypaleoenvironmental reconstructionecological niche modellingQuaternaryMexico |
| spellingShingle | J. Alberto Cruz Julián A. Velasco Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales Eileen Johnson Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds Diversity paleoecology paleoenvironmental reconstruction ecological niche modelling Quaternary Mexico |
| title | Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds |
| title_full | Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds |
| title_fullStr | Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds |
| title_short | Paleoclimatic Reconstruction Based on the Late Pleistocene San Josecito Cave Stratum 720 Fauna Using Fossil Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds |
| title_sort | paleoclimatic reconstruction based on the late pleistocene san josecito cave stratum 720 fauna using fossil mammals reptiles and birds |
| topic | paleoecology paleoenvironmental reconstruction ecological niche modelling Quaternary Mexico |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/7/881 |
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