Studying Mammoths Through Dung Fungus
Wired Science recently posted an article called Dung Fungus Provides New Evidence in Mammoth Extinction by Betsy Mason. Interesting stuff.
The latest evidence in the disappearance of the mammoths, and nine other North American species weighing over a ton, comes from fossilized dung fungus. But despite their lowly origin, if the new findings hold, they point away from human causes and could rule out an asteroid impact altogether. By studying the abundance over time of a fungus that lived only in the dung of these animals, scientists have revealed that the animals began to decline in numbers earlier than previously believed.
Many people think humans were a major cause of the mammoth extinction. Perhaps there is more to the story.
This Wired article is based on research published in Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America, J.L. Gill; J.W. Williams; K.B. Lininger; G.S. Robinson; Science, V. 326, Nov. 20, 2009
More:
Climate not really what doomed large North American mammals
Tiny fungi replay the fall of the giant beasts
Dung Fungi at University of Sydney
Tags: dung fungus, mammoths
Feces and fungi…what a wonderful combination. I performed some undergraduate research on fecal decomposition and the succession of fungi on the feces. Very interesting stuff. Thanks for posting this great and potentially important article.
Thanks Fun Guy. Glad you liked it.