Early humans evolved in ecosystems unlike any found today

EurekAlert! ^ | University of Utah

[SunkenCiv]

Because putting together the puzzle of millions-of-years-old ecosystems is a difficult task, many studies have reconstructed the environments by drawing analogies with present-day African ecosystems, such as the Serengeti. A study led by a University of Utah scientist calls into question such approaches and suggests that the vast majority of human evolution occurred in ecosystems unlike any found today...

To test for differences between modern and ancient environments, the researchers analyzed a dataset of more than 200 present-day African mammal communities and more than 100 fossil communities spanning the past 7 million years in eastern Africa, a time period encompassing all of human evolution. They found that prior to 700,000 years ago, mammal communities looked far different from those today. For example, fossil communities supported a greater diversity of megaherbivores, species over 2,000 pounds, such as elephants. Likewise, the dietary structure of fossil communities frequently departed from those seen today, with patterns of grass- and leaf-eating species fluctuating in abundance. Around 1 million years ago, fossil communities began transitioning to a more modern makeup, which the authors suggest is the likely the outcome of long-term grassland expansion coupled with arid climate pulses...

Eastern Africa is a boon for mammal fossils, making it an ideal region to piece together ancient ecosystems over the past 7 million years. With their extensive database of both ancient and modern mammal communities, the researchers focused on three traits: diet, body size, and digestive strategy. For all of these traits, they found that the makeup of ancient herbivore communities differed significantly from those of today. This is key, as herbivores directly shape the structure of ecosystems in ways that impact a wide variety of animal and plant species.

[blam]

On the upside, all the catastrophies of the past provided the conditions that allowed you and I to be here today....I don't view that as all bad.

'Survival of the fittest' will prevail despite any of our efforts.

[gleeaikin]

I heard an interesting report today about scientists overseas working on producing kerosene like fuel for aircraft from CO2. So far the production is very scant, by the liter not the barrel, but they say no pollutants are produced in the manufacture, and if solar and wind are used, energy needs are met without producing pollutants. And the CO2 is waste CO2.

[Openurmind]

Here is the problem, Plants need the CO2. They are going to muck things up by going overboard with that. It’s all hype and they need to stop the anti CO2 stuff while we are ahead. CO2 levels were higher during the last interglacial than they are now, it’s all BS.