End of the megafauna :

by MacPhee, R. D. E.,

Additional authors: Schouten, Peter, -- illustrator.

Edition statement:First edition. Physical details: xiii, 236 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (chiefly color) ; 26 cm ISBN:9780393249293; 0393249298.

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Title notes

Item type	Current location	Call number	Status	Notes	Date due	Barcode
500 - 599	Book Cart	591.41 Mac (Browse shelf)	Available	In memory of James Heuschkel		107036

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Previous	591 Hid Hidden worlds of wildlife.	591 Wil Wildlife of the world /	591.38 Inc Incredible human journey	591.41 Mac End of the megafauna :	591.5 Mur A field guide to animal tracks /	591.5 Roa Fuzz :	591.5 Yon An immense world :	Next

Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-223) and index.

Preface : Lost in near time -- Big -- "This sudden dying out" -- The world before us -- The hominin diaspora -- Explaining near time extinctions : first attempts -- Paul Martin and the planet of doom : overkill ascendant -- Action and reaction -- Overkill now -- Where are the bodies, and other objections to overkill -- More objections : betrayal from within? -- Other ideas : the search continues -- Extinction matters -- Epilogue : Can the megafauna live again? -- Appendix : Dating near time.

"The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller--including gorilla-sized lemurs, 800-pound birds, crocodiles that weighed a ton or more--roamed the earth. These great beasts, or "megafauna," lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammologist Ross D.E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna--and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail."--

107036

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