The Second-Order Predation Hypothesis of Pleistocene Extinctions : A System Dynamics Model

ISBN-13: 9783639115796 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 156 str.

Elin Whitney-Smith

Opis

The end of the last Ice Age (Pleistocene) saw: 1)significant climate and vegetation changes, 2) theintroduction of humans to the New World, and 3) majormegafaunal extinctions.The leading theories of these extinctions climatechange and overkill are inadequate neither explainswhy: 1) ruminants survived better than non-ruminants;2) many mammal species were diminished in size; or 3)why vegetative environments shifted.Climate change does not explain why climate changesof similar magnitude did not lead to similarextinctions. Overkill links extinction with humans huntingherbivores, but omits the reciprocal impact, of preydecline on predators, yet standard predator/preymodels show predators cannot hunt prey to extinction.The Second Order Predation theory handles theseconcerns. It holds that humans reduced predatorpopulations, leading to a megaherbivore boom,over-consumption of plants, environmental exhaustion,and extinctions. The mathematical model developed totest this hypothesis is the only one to date that canbe used to compare all three extinction theories.

O autorze

Ph.D. Geobiology, George Washington University; Ph.D. Engineering
Management, Old Dominion University; teaching: Cybernetics and
Systems, San Jose State University; Research Interests:
Paleoarchaeology, Ice Age Extinctions, Evolution of ecosystems,
Cybernetics, and System Dynamics; President, Netalyst.