Loading...
Non-Analog Behaviour of Eastern African Herbivore Communities During the Last Glacial Period
Journal Title
Ecology Letters
Readers/Advisors
Journal Title
Term and Year
Publication Date
2025-01
Book Title
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Publication Begin
Publication End
Number of pages
Files
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Modern African ungulates navigate seasonal variation in resource availability through diet-switching (primarily mixed-feeders) and/or migrating (primarily grass grazers). These ecological generalizations are well-documented today, but the extent to which they apply to the non-analog ecosystems of the Pleistocene are unclear. Drawing from serially-sampled stable isotope measurements from 18 Kenyan large herbivore species from the Last Glacial Period (LGP), we evaluate how diet, diet-switching, and migration compare to observations from present-day settings. We find a higher grazing signal in most LGP species and a greater magnitude of diet-switching than in the present. Additionally, we find that the relationships between grass intake, migration, diet-switching, and body size during the LGP were unlike those observed today. This establishes a revised paleoecology of LGP herbivore communities and highlights that LGP herbivores were behaviorally non-analog. Our results imply that ecological observations from present-day settings offer an incomplete perspective of herbivore-environment interactions.
Citation
O'Brien, K., Ashioya, L. and Faith, J.T. (2025), Non-Analog Behaviour of Eastern African Herbivore Communities During the Last Glacial Period. Ecology Letters, 28: e70041. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70041
Description
This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: O'Brien, K., Ashioya, L. and Faith, J.T. (2025), Non-Analog Behaviour of Eastern African Herbivore Communities During the Last Glacial Period. Ecology Letters, 28: e70041. , which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70041]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
Accessibility Statement
Electronic Accessibility Statement: SUNY Oneonta is committed to providing equal access to college information by ensuring our digital content is accessible by everyone regardless of physical, sensory, or cognitive ability. This item has been checked by Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Check and remediated with the following result: [Remediation: Title, structure type/Hazard: no known hazards]. To request further accessibility remediation on this SOAR repository item for your specific needs, please contact openaccess@oneonta.edu.