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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
A Late Pleistocene coastal ecosystem in French Guiana was hyperdiverse relative to today
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.121(14), e2311597121
02/04/2024
PMID: 38527199
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Abstract
Warmer temperatures and higher sea level than today characterized the Last Interglacial interval [Pleistocene, 128 to 116 thousand years ago (ka)]. This period is a remarkable deep-time analog for temperature and sea-level conditions as projected for 2100 AD, yet there has been no evidence of fossil assemblages in the equatorial Atlantic. Here, we report foraminifer, metazoan (mollusks, bony fish, bryozoans, decapods, and sharks among others), and plant communities of coastal tropical marine and mangrove affinities, dating precisely from a ca. 130 to 115 ka time interval near the Equator, at Kourou, in French Guiana. These communities include ca. 230 recent species, some being endangered today and/or first recorded as fossils. The hyperdiverse Kourou mollusk assemblage suggests stronger affinities between Guianese and Caribbean coastal waters by the Last Interglacial than today, questioning the structuring role of the Amazon Plume on tropical Western Atlantic communities at the time. Grassland-dominated pollen, phytoliths, and charcoals from younger deposits in the same sections attest to a marine retreat and dryer conditions during the onset of the last glacial (ca. 110 to 50 ka), with a savanna-dominated landscape and episodes of fire. Charcoals from the last millennia suggest human presence in a mosaic of modern-like continental habitats. Our results provide key information about the ecology and biogeography of pristine Pleistocene tropical coastal ecosystems, especially relevant regarding the-widely anthropogenic-ongoing global warming.
Details
- Title
- A Late Pleistocene coastal ecosystem in French Guiana was hyperdiverse relative to today
- Creators
- Pierre-Olivier Antoine - University of MontpellierLinde N Wieringa - University of MontpellierSylvain Adnet - University of MontpellierOrangel Aguilera - Universidade Federal FluminenseStéphanie C Bodin - Senckenberg Research Institute (Frankfurt, Germany)Stephen Cairns - National Museum of Natural HistoryCarlos A Conejeros-Vargas - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoJean-Jacques Cornée - University of MontpellierŽilvinas Ežerinskis - Center for Physical Sciences and TechnologyJan Fietzke - GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielNatacha O Gribenski - University of BernSandrine Grouard - Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleAustin Hendy - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyCarina Hoorn - University of AmsterdamRenaud Joannes-Boyau - Southern Cross UniversityMartin R Langer - University of BonnJavier Luque - University of CambridgeLaurent Marivaux - University of MontpellierPierre Moissette - National and Kapodistrian University of AthensKees Nooren - University of AmsterdamFrédéric Quillévéré - Claude Bernard University Lyon 1Justina Šapolaitė - Center for Physical Sciences and TechnologyMatteo Sciumbata - University of AmsterdamPierre G Valla - Université Savoie Mont BlancNina H Witteveen - University of AmsterdamAlexandre Casanova - University of French GuianaSimon Clavier - Guiana Space CentrePhilibert Bidgrain - University of French GuianaMarjorie Gallay - University of French GuianaMathieu Rhoné - University of French GuianaArnauld Heuret - University of Montpellier
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.121(14), e2311597121
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Grant note
- ANR-10-LABX-25-01 / Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) LE200100022 / Australian Research Council ANR-17-CE31-0009 / Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) ARC DP220100195 / Australian Research Council ERC 2019 StG 853394 / EC | European Research Council (ERC) CNPq 304693/2021-9 / Brazilian Council of Science and Technological Development ANR-18-MPGA-0006 / Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
- Identifiers
- 991013176610502368
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article