Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.021

IVPP-IR > 中科院古脊椎所（2000年以后）

	Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis
	Ma, Jiao 1,2,3,4; Wang, Yuan 1,5; Jin, Changzhu 1; Hu, Yaowu 1,2; Bocherens, Herve 3,4
	2019-05-15
发表期刊	QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
ISSN	0277-3791
卷号	212 页码:33-44
通讯作者	Hu, Yaowu(ywhu@ucas.ac.cn) ; Bocherens, Herve(herve.bocherens@uni-tuebingen.de)
摘要	Elephas maximus and Stegodon orientalis were two keystone proboscideans in southern Asia that coexisted mainly after the Middle Pleistocene in many regions. The long-term paleoecology and possible foraging competition of these two species have not been intensively investigated yet. Here, we applied stable isotope (C, O) analysis to the tooth enamel of coexisting Elephas maximus, Stegodon orientalis, and other associated mammalian species in Quzai Cave, southern China, dated to the early Late Pleistocene, to explore their paleoenvironmental context and foraging ecology. The delta C-13 values of Elephas maximus were widely distributed between -17.9 parts per thousand and -11.9 parts per thousand (n = 10), while Stegodon orientalis delta C-13 values ranged from -16.7 parts per thousand to -14.7 parts per thousand (n = 7). These results suggest that Elephas maximus was possibly a mixed feeder with a broader range of dietary resources than Stegodon orientalis, which probably browsed on a narrower range of plant resources in more densely forested landscape. A chronological comparison (from 8 Ma to recent) of published delta C-13 data for these two species from Asia showed that none of them were dietary specialists. However, Elephas had a more flexible foraging ecology and a stronger ability to exploit abrasive grasses than Stegodon. The niche partitioning and perceived different foraging behaviors of Stegodon and Elephas might have reduced the level of interspecific competition and allowed them to coexist during the Pleistocene. Moreover, the high-level of ecological flexibility of Elephas might have helped them to survive until the present day, while Stegodon eventually went extinct by the terminal Pleistocene similar to 12 ka. An extensive comparison and evaluation of the delta C-13 data from fossil mammals in mainland southeast Asia during the Early to Late Pleistocene suggests that southern China was dominated by C-3 vegetation throughout the Pleistocene, in contrast with the evidence of C-4 biomes in neighboring Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Southern China experienced relatively stable environments during the Pleistocene, which can be attributed to the wide range of mountainous regions that acted as ecological refugia from human interference and climatic fluctuations, and allowed the preservation of high biodiversity. The isotopic data we present here provides new evidence about the ecological complexity of mainland southeast Asia and elucidates the need for more systematic research to investigate extinction models and ecological conservation in this region. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
关键词	Stable isotopes Stegodon Elephas Pleistocene Paleoecology Paleoenvironment Coexistence Southeast Asia
DOI	10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.021
关键词[WOS]	BOAR SUS-SCROFA ; HERBIVORE TOOTH ENAMEL ; DHOLES CUON-ALPINUS ; OXYGEN ISOTOPES ; GIGANTOPITHECUS-BLACKI ; HOMO-SAPIENS ; ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE ; ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE ; SEASONAL-VARIATION ; UNGULATE MAMMALS
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
资助项目	National Science Foundation in China[41773008] ; National Science Foundation in China[143109] ; National Science Foundation in China[41872022] ; Joint PhD Training Program in UCAS ; National Basic Research Program of China[2015CB953803] ; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (S-HEP) in Universitat Tubingen
项目资助者	National Science Foundation in China ; Joint PhD Training Program in UCAS ; National Basic Research Program of China ; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (S-HEP) in Universitat Tubingen
WOS研究方向	Physical Geography ; Geology
WOS类目	Geography, Physical ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS记录号	WOS:000468707400004
出版者	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
引用统计	被引频次：26[WOS] [WOS记录] [WOS相关记录]
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/9693
专题	中科院古脊椎所（2000年以后）
通讯作者	Hu, Yaowu; Bocherens, Herve
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Key Lab Vertebrate Evolut & Human Origins, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Dept Archaeol & Anthropol, Yu Quan Rd 19 A, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China 3.Univ Tubingen, Forsch Bereich Palaobiol, Fachbereich Geowissensch, D-72074 Tubingen, Germany 4.Univ Tubingen, Senckenberg Ctr Human Evolut & Palaeoenvironm S H, D-72074 Tubingen, Germany 5.CAS Ctr Excellence Life & Paleoenvironm, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Ma, Jiao,Wang, Yuan,Jin, Changzhu,et al. Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis[J]. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS,2019,212:33-44.
APA	Ma, Jiao,Wang, Yuan,Jin, Changzhu,Hu, Yaowu,&Bocherens, Herve.(2019).Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis.QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS,212,33-44.
MLA	Ma, Jiao,et al."Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis".QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 212(2019):33-44.