Pre–Younger Dryas megafaunal extirpation at Rancho La Brea linked to fire-driven state shift

Authors:

F Robin O’keefe, Regan E Dunn, Elic M Weitzel, Michael R Waters, Lisa N Martinez, Wendy J Binder, John R Southon, Joshua E Cohen, Julie A Meachen, Larisa RG DeSantis, Matthew E Kirby, Elena Ghezzo, Joan B Coltrain, Benjamin T Fuller, Aisling B Farrell, Gary T Takeuchi, Glen MacDonald, Edward B Davis, Emily L Lindsey

Abstract:

It is well known that many large vertebrate species went extinct during the late Pleistocene in most regions of the world. What caused these extinctions remains debated, although both climate change and human impacts have been implicated. O’Keefe et al. used the extensive fossil record created by the entrapment of animals in the La Brea tar pits in conjunction with nearby core samples and found a clear relationship between an increase in fire—and fire-related ecosystems—and large mammal extinction. The authors argue that this increase in fire may have resulted from climate change–induced warming and drying in conjunction with increasing impacts of humans in the system. 

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