Assessing the impact of life history on the end-Pleistocene survival and extinction of Beringian carnivorans

Carnivores are critical components of ecosystems and changes to carnivore communities can impact entire food webs. Modern North American carnivore communities are sparse compared with those elsewhere, with many of the largest species having gone extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11.7 thousand years ago. Today, many species of carnivore that survived the end-Pleistocene extinction are endangered due to anthropogenic climate change, hunting, and habitat loss. By looking at the ecological factors involved in the end-Pleistocene extinction, we can begin to understand the factors that place carnivores today at the highest risk. This project will use bone histology and stable isotope analysis to investigate the ecologies of carnivore species in the Pleistocene and identify the factors making species more likely to go extinct. By generating new insights into the causes of extinctions in the past, these data can be used to identify conservation priorities for carnivores today.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jeremy Kerr

Student:

Partner:

Canadian Museum of Nature

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Arts, entertainment and recreation

University:

University of Ottawa

Program: