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Megafauna of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe
Pleistocene rewilding is the advocacy of the reintroduction of extant Pleistocene megafauna, or the close ecological equivalents of extinct megafauna.[1] It is an extension of the conservation practice of rewilding, which aims to restore functioning, self-sustaining ecosystems through practices that may include species reintroductions.
Towards the end of the Pleistocene era (roughly 13,000 to 10,000 years ago), nearly all megafauna of Eurasia, Australia, and South/North America, dwindled towards extinction, in what has been referred to as the Quaternary extinction event. With the loss of large herbivores and predator species, niches important for ecosystem functioning were left unoccupied.[2] In the words of the biologist Tim Flannery, "ever since the extinction of the megafauna 13,000 years ago, the continent has had a seriously unbalanced fauna". This means, for example, that the managers of national parks in North America have to resort to culling to keep the population of ungulates under control.[3]
Paul S. Martin (originator of the Pleistocene overkill hypothesis[4]) states that present ecological communities in North America do not function appropriately in the absence of megafauna, because much of the native flora and fauna evolved under the influence of large mammals.[5][6]
^Rubenstein, D.R.; D.I. Rubenstein; P.W. Sherman; T.A. Gavin (2006). "Pleistocene Park: Does re-wilding North America represent sound conservation for the 21st century?" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
^Janzen, Daniel H.; Paul S. Martin (1 January 1982). "Neotropical Anachronisms: The Fruits the Gomphotheres Ate". Science. 215 (4528): 19–27. Bibcode:1982Sci...215...19J. doi:10.1126/science.215.4528.19. PMID 17790450. S2CID 19296719.
^Tim Flannery (2001), The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples, ISBN 1-876485-72-8, pp. 344--346
^Martin, Paul (22 October 1966). "Africa and Pleistocene Overkill". Nature. 212 (5060): 339–342. Bibcode:1966Natur.212..339M. doi:10.1038/212339a0. S2CID 27013299.
^Martin, P. S. (2005). Twilight of the Mammoths: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520231412. OCLC 58055404. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
^Lenart, Melanie (8 June 1999). "Gone But Not Forgotten: Bring Back North American Elephants". Science Daily. University of Arizona. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
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reestablishment of grassland ecosystems. This argument is the basis for rewildingPleistocene Park's landscape with megafauna that were previously abundant in...
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decline wildfires; a theory similar in a way to the concepts of Pleistocenerewilding. Camels can be an effective counter against introduced weeds. Camels...
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Extinctions of large mammals in the Late PleistocenePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets Pleistocenerewilding (there exist discussions about...
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factor that leads to local extinction. This was the case during the Pleistocene glaciation event in North America. During this period, most of the native...
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