Researchers made the dismal finding that rapid warming, such as what is being seen today, has likely been the cause of massive extinction events like the disappearance of the wooly mammoth.
A team of researchers used radiocarbon dating and other geologic records to reveal that short, rapid warming events called interstadials, during the last ice age were linked to extinction patterns, the University of Adelaide reported.
"This abrupt warming had a profound impact on climate that caused marked shifts in global rainfall and vegetation patterns," said University of Adelaide lead author and Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, Professor Alan Cooper. "Even without the presence of humans we saw mass extinctions. When you add the modern addition of human pressures and fragmenting of the environment to the rapid changes brought by global warming, it raises serious concerns about the future of our environment."
In past studies the researchers detected a pattern of rapid disappearances of large species, but thought they were related to cold snaps. Further research into fossil DNA made possible through improvements in carbon dating and temperature records showed the opposite was more likely to be true. The findings showed rapid warming was the most plausible cause of these devastating extinction events. The findings help explain the dramatic extinction of mammoths and giant sloths at the end of the last ice age about 11,000 years ago.
"It is important to recognise that man still played an important role in the disappearance of the major mega fauna species," said fellow author Professor Chris Turney from the University of New South Wales. "The abrupt warming of the climate caused massive changes to the environment that set the extinction events in motion, but the rise of humans applied the coup de grâce to a population that was already under stress."
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Science.
