Holocene Extinctions

About this book

The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of data. However, the Holocene (the geological interval spanning the last 11,500 years from the end of the last glaciation) has witnessed massive levels of extinctions that have continued into the modern historical era, but in a context of only relatively minor climatic fluctuations. This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time.

Holocene Extinctions describes and analyses the range of global extinction events which have occurred during this key time period, as well as their relationship to both earlier and ongoing species losses. By integrating information from fields as diverse as zoology, ecology, palaeontology, archaeology and geography, and by incorporating data from a broad range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems, this novel text provides a fascinating insight into human impacts on global extinction rates, both past and present.

This truly interdisciplinary book is suitable for both graduate students and researchers in these varied fields. It will also be of value and use to policy-makers and conservation professionals since it provides valuable guidance on how to apply lessons from the past to prevent future biodiversity loss and inform modern conservation planning.

Contents

Introduction
1. An Introduction to Late Glacial - Holocene Environments , Anson W. Mackay
2. In the Shadow of the Megafauna: Prehistoric Mammal and Bird Extinctions across the Holocene , Samuel T. Turvey
3. Holocene Mammal Extinctions , Samuel T. Turvey
4. Holocene Avian Extinctions , Tommy Tyrberg
5. Past and Future Patterns of Freshwater Mussel Extinctions in North America during the Holocene , Wendell R. Haag
6. Holocene Extinctions in the Sea , Nicholas K. Dulvy, John K. Pinnegar & John D. Reynolds
7. Procellariform Extinctions in the Holocene: Threat Processes and Wider Ecosystem-Scale Implications , R. Paul Scofield
8. Coextinction: Anecdotes, Models and Speculation , Robert R. Dunn
9. Probabilistic Methods for Determining Extinction Chronologies , Ben Collen & Samuel T. Turvey
10. The Past is Another Country: Is Evidence for Prehistoric, Historical and Present-Day Extinction Really Comparable? , Samuel T. Turvey & Joanne H. Cooper
11. Holocene Deforestation: A History of Human-Environmental Interactions, Climate Change and Extinction , Rob Marchant, Simon Brewer, Thompson Webb III & Samuel T. Turvey
12. The Shape of Things to Come: Non-Native Mammalian Predators and the Fate of Island Bird Diversity , Julie L. Lockwood, Tim M. Blackburn, Phillip Cassey & Julian D. Olden
13. The Quaternary Fossil Record as a Source of Data for Evidence-Based Conservation: Is the Past the Key to the Future? , J. R. Stewart
14. Holocene Extinctions and the Loss of Feature Diversity , Arne O. Mooers, Simon J. Goring, Samuel T. Turvey & Tyler S. Kuhn
References

Customer Reviews

Biography

Edited by Samuel T. Turvey, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK