Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.

By Alton Parrish (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Sunken Lands Reveal Rising Seas Caused By Glacial Melting Linked To Caribbean Extinction Of Bats

Friday, November 16, 2012 15:06

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

In a new study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, researchers show that rising sea levels produced by deglaciation, or the melting of glaciers, caused the extinction of most bats in the Caribbean Islands, including the Cuban vampire and Puerto Rican flower bats. The article, entitled, “Deglaciation explains bat extinction in the Caribbean,” led by Assistant Professor Liliana M. Dávalos, PhD, from theDepartment of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, shows that deglaciation drowned vast expanses of low-lying islands.

Outline of Caribbean islands at the Last Glacial Maximum and at present.

Credit: Stony Brook

According to Professor Dávalos and her colleague Amy L. Russell, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, the high extinction rate following deglaciation in the Caribbean has been noted for decades and rich fossil deposits in the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles attest to a fauna that no longer exists. Among mammals, most terrestrial species were wiped out around the time humans arrived, and many bat populations that existed elsewhere went extinct (e.g., Cuban vampire bat, Puerto Rican flower bat, etc.) on one or several islands. The many instances of both extinction and persistence of bats across dozens of islands made it an ideal system for investigating how climate change may shape island fauna.

Liliana M. Dávalos, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University.

Credit: Stony Brook

The researchers used deep sea-bathymetry (measurement of underwater depth) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model the extent to which land would have been exposed in the Caribbean at the peak of the glaciation, when sea levels were 125 meters below their current levels. Combining the record of current and fossil bats with the area for each island, they then used a simple mathematical relationship between the number of species and area of an island to estimate the number of local extinction events that could be explained by the change in area.

The skulls of Subfossil Caribbean bats from the Dominican Republic.

Credit: Courtesy of the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, Dr. Renato Rímoli and the Antillothrix Projec

Together, they found that most of the species loss in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles could be explained by the loss of area caused by rising sea levels. In the Lesser Antilles the mathematical models pointed out gaps in the fossil record of most islands. The large impact of area loss on species loss held, even after excluding species that may have colonized the islands recently and accounting for coral growth in the Bahamas.

“There have been many explanations before as to why so many bat populations collapsed: cave drowning, the arrival of new species, lack of tolerance to the warmer and wetter climate of the Holocene are examples,” said Professor Dávalos.

Noctilionoid bats comprise more than 200 species that span nearly the entire ecological diversity of land mammals. They range from tiny insectivores and nectarivores to large carnivores, and even vampire bats. This superfamily provides an unparalleled system for understanding how, when, and where bats evolved new diets, changed roosting habits and developed different kinds of echolocation. This project will use DNA sequences and comparison of morphological variations to reconstruct evolutionary relationships among these bats, including the fossils of >20 extinct species. Together with powerful methods for estimating the timing of historical events, this extensive fossil series will provide a timeline for investigating patterns and processes of ecological adaptation, speciation, and extinction across all species.

“We were expecting area loss to be important in explaining extinction, but not as important as we found. This drives home the point that rising sea levels pose great risks to biodiversity today,” Professor Russell said.

Contacts and sources:

Stony Brook University

UFO And UFO Formation Passes International Space Station

Deflecting Giant Incoming Asteroid Apophis: MIT Devises Earth Protection

Pole Shift Could Send Boston To Equator Say Harvard Scientists, Polar Shift Could Tip The Earth Over By 50 Degrees And It Has Happened 6 Times Say Geologists

UFOs Over The Permian Basin 2012 HD

Weird Alien, Zombie Caught On Trail Cam 2012 HD

Finger Found in Mars Curiosity Photo, Alien Metal Artifact, And Possible Life Forms In Mars Videos

Rogue Planet Found By Astronomers, As Large As Jupiter

Technology Harvests Energy From Railroad Train Vibrations

Sunken Lands Reveal Rising Seas Caused By Glacial Melting Linked To Caribbean Extinction Of Bats

Super Camera Records A Trillion Images A Second, Takes Pictures Around Corners

Iranian Attack On US Drone – Payback For Khartoum Bombing

Israel’s Gaza Ceasefire Fails, Netanyahu Blames Hamas

Reclaiming Poisoned Land With Manure

15 Reasons America’s Retirement Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think

Future Of Euro Threatened By France, Baguette “Bomb” Explodes Into Diplomatic Row

Melt Water On Mars Could Sustain Life

More Valuable Than Gold: Robotic Explorers May Usher In Lunar ‘Water Rush’

Bigfoot Voice Recorded By Navy Crypto-linguist Near Kansas City

Hinode’s View of the Eclipse

Last Major Chapter In Human Colonization, The Polynesian Triangle

Nanotechnology To Lead To Improved Nuclear Reactors

Discovery Of Key To Super-Sensory Hearing

Weird Alien, Zombie Caught On Trail Cam 2012 HD

UFO’s Over The Permian Basin 2012 HQ

Doomsday 2012 And Pole Reversal

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

LION'S MANE PRODUCT

Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules

Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.

Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.

Comments

Visits:	1,706,384,039
Stories:	8,445,378