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Human influence on faunal turnover during Early Holocene in Sicily
Full text linkSession: Environment, climate and human impact: the archaeological evidence
AIQUA CONGRESS 2012 February 15-17 Pisa, Italy 71
HUMAN INFLUENCE ON FAUNAL TURNOVER DURING EARLY HOLOCENE IN SICILY
Petruso D., Sineo L.
Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale e Biodiversità, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi, 18, 90123
Palermo, Italy
The faunistic analysis at the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Sicily allows to understand the
ecologic and/or human role in the faunal turn over of the island. Following the work of Petruso et
al. (in press) we assessed that at the Pleniglacial-Late Glacial interval, in supposed absence of
human occurrence, were already extinct the last endemites (the middle sized elephant, the endemic
sicilian subspecies of red deer, auroch and bison) and the large predators (the spotted hyena and the
cave bear) surviving in Sicily from the late Middle Pleistocene. Otherwise some other taxa already
arrived during the Interpleniglacial still occur, such as the steppe ass and some small mammals (the
common field mouse while the shrew and the Terricola vole arrived slightly before), and others
belonging to the long resident taxa (such as the red fox, the wolf, the wild boar and the hedgehog)
of the early Middle Pleistocene. The newly arrived fauna accompanied by humans is composed by
an heterogeneous group of mammals such as the lynx, the auroch, the roe and red deer, the marten,
the weasel, the hare and the wild cat. All these cohort of taxa seem not to be influenced by
consistent human presence with the exception of the wild ass and of the linx that become extinct at
the transition with Holocene. We conclude that the faunal turn over in Sicily have been driven
mostly by climatic fluctuations and geodynamic events (that modulated the connection or isolation
phases of Sicily with the mainland) while the ecologic role of humans seems to have been very low
until the recent Holocene. During the course of Holocene human have influenced faunal
composition with massive hunting but mostly with the active and passive introduction of alien
species.
Petruso D., Sarà M., Surdi G., Masini F., in press. Le faune a mammiferi della Sicilia tra il
Tardoglaciale e L’Olocene. In: La Biogeografia della Sicilia. Biogeographia, 30
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Phylogeny and biogeography of fossil and extant Microtus (Terricola) (Mammalia, Rodentia) of Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula based on current dentalmorphological data
No full textThe fossil record of the Savi vole, Microtus (Terricola) savii, is analyzed in terms of morphological and morphometrical variability of the first lower molar, in order to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between insular and mainland populations and the dispersal events. The present work gives a contribution to better understand the phylogenetic history of this taxon in Sicily and Southern Italy during the interval Middle Pleistocene - Holocene, in an attempt to reconstruct the relationships between insular and continental voles and to clarify some paleobiogeographical aspects. The morphometrical data have been acquired by traditional measurements of the first lower molar and analyzed by dispersal diagrams and Principal Components Analysis.The fossil Sicilian samples have a greater size variation than extant ones. Two different morphological groups have been identified and named on the basis of the similarity with European or Italian populations: a "subterraneomorph" one (characterized by a tighter symmetric anterior cap and longer anteroconid), similar to European M. (T.) subterraneus species, and a "savimorph" one (more confluent and asymmetric anterior cap and shorter anteroconid), occasionally with the accentuation of morphological characters of M. (T.) savii.The results, in particular the differences between Pleistocene and Holocene Sicilian populations and the similarities with the mainland ones, suggest that the Savi vole dispersed at least twice in Sicily. One colonization took place likely during the cold stage MIS 6 (recorded at Isolidda 3) with dispersal events, made possible by the sea level drop and the connection with the mainland, and a second one (documented at San Teodoro cave and other Holocene assemblages) during MIS 4 (by dispersal events) or MIS 3 (by accidental transit or limited faunal exchanges). © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA
Oscillazioni eustatiche, biocronologia e depositi continentali quaternari e neotettonica nella Sicilia nord-ocidentale (Penisola di S. Vito lo Capo – Trapani)
No full textOsgillazioni eustatiche, biocronologia dei depositi continentali quaternari e neotettonica nella Sicilia nord-occidentale (penisola di San Vito lo Capo - Trapani)
No full textVengono presentati i risultati di uno studio interdisciplinare condotto nella Penisola di San Vito lo Capo, Sicilia nord - occidentale. In questa area i terreni quaternari sono rappresentati da depositi marini e di spiaggia distribuiti a varie quote e da depositi continentali contenenti resti di vertebrati. Questi terreni si rinvengono all'interno di solchi e grotte marine, dove sono state riconosciute anche fasce a fori di litodomi, o costituiscono corpi sedimentari che giacciono sopra superfici di abrasione marina. Le associazioni a mammiferi presenti in tali terreni appartengono al complesso faunistico a Elephas falconeri del primo Pleistocene medio, al complesso a Elephas mnaidriensis del tardo Pleistocene medio - Pleistocene superiore e al complesso di Castello del Tardiglaciale. Lungo le aree costiere sono stati individuati sette ordini di terrazzi, situati a differenti quote, riferibili a più fasi di stazionamento alto del livello del mare succedutesi tra la fine del Pleistocene inferiore / inizio Pleistocene medio e il Pleistocene superiore. Le successioni terrazzate e i relativi depositi sono dislocati da faglie che, a più riprese, hanno interessato l'area in esame. L'indagine geomorfologica, lo studio delle associazioni faunistiche continentali, l'analisi delle relazioni intercorrenti tra i terrazzi e i depositi marini e continentali e l'analisi mesostrutturale hanno permesso di avanzare un’ipotesi di correlazione fra i diversi ordini di terrazzi, e i depositi ad essi associati, e gli stadi isotopici e di datare i principali eventi tettonici che hanno interessato l'area. In particolare, il terrazzo di VII ordine si correla con il sotto - stadio isotopico 5a o 5c, quello di VI ordine con il sotto - stadio 5e mentre maggiori incertezze si sono avute per la datazione dei terrazzi più antichi. I terrazzi compresi tra il V e il II ordine potrebbero essere correlati con le fasi di stazionamento alto del livello marino corrispondenti agli stadi isotopici da 7 a 15, mentre il terrazzo di I ordine potrebbe essere riferibile a stadi isotopici del primo Pleistocene medio o del tardo Pleistocene inferiore. Le correlazioni dei depositi a vertebrati con la successione terrazzata sono coerenti con le datazioni aminostratigrafiche e radiometriche note in letteratura per i complessi faunistici siciliani. Il complesso a E. falconeri risulta grossomodo correlabile all'intervallo compreso fra gli stadi 17 e 9, mentre quello a E. mnaidriensis risulta compreso fra gli stadi 8 e 4. Sulla base delle correlazioni proposte, il tasso medio di sollevamento dell'area dal Pleistocene medio all’Attuale risulterebbe dell'ordine di 0,11 - 0,14 m/ka.In the San Vito to Capo Peninsula (North - Western Sicily) Quaternary deposits un-conformably overlay a Mesozoic - Tertiary substrate. These deposits are marine and neritic, however, transitional and continental ones also occur. The marine terrain are mainly terrace deposits, while the continental ones, usually rich of fossil vertebrates, are predominantly preserved in morphological traps (wave cut notches, marine caves and karst cavities) and sometimes alternate with the terrace deposits. In the considered area we have identified seven order terraces related to the eustatic fluctuations and to the tectonic movements of the Late and Middle Pleistocene. The complete succession is exposed in the Piana di Cornino area and, partially, in the Piana di Castelluzzo, Piana di Sopra, Piana di San Vito Io Capo and in Zarbo di Mare areas. The various phases of marine high stand level are also recorded by wave cut notches and caves which are frequently filled by continental and/or marine deposits. The Piana di Sopra area has been studied more in the detail. In this area a wide top abrasion surface (I order terrace), dislocated by quaternary faults, ranges from 53 to 83 m a.s.l. Numerous marine cavities cut in the inactive cliffs of Piana di Sopra and the karst depressions located on the abrasion surface, contain deposits which yielded the most representative continental faunal assemblages of the Peninsula. These assemblages belong to the early Middle Pleistocene Elephas falconeri Sicilian Faunal Complex (Semaforo, Torre Isolidda 2 sites), to the Elephas mnaidriensis Complex (K22, Bivio, Caletta Cofano, Seno dell'Arena, Tonnara del Secco sites), late Middle Pleistocene - early Late Pleistocene in age and to the Lateglacial Casteflo Complex (K22 site). The geomorphological data, the relationships of Pleistocene marine and continental deposits with the terrace succession allowed us to propose a correlation of the ancient shore lines with the succession of marine high stand phases and consequently with the North Atlantic Î ́18O isotope variation curve. This correlation has finally been constrained by the ages inferred by the mammal assemblages. Even though dating of the terraces and the related deposits retain some uncertainties, these data, integrated with mesostructural analyses, allowed to a draw palaeogeographic evolutionary model and to date the main Pleistocene tectonic events affecting the area. The VI order terrace has been dated to the Eutyirrhe-nian by the finds of a rich warm - temperate "Senegalense" fauna, including Strombus bubonius. Tectonic disturbance renders the dating of the older terraces and their correlation with mammal bearing deposits less direct. In the area, vertical movements produced 30 m maximum throws, while horizontal components seem to have played a remarkable role, locally causing tilting and folding also after the Tyrrhenian. In any case the terraces can be correlated with marine high stand levels as follows: The VII order terrace correlates with "neotyrrhenian" phase (isotopic sub - stage 5a or 5c); the VI order terrace with the Eutyrrhenian (isotopic sub - stage 5e); the V order one with the isotopic stage 7, the IV order terrace with stage 9; that of III order with the stage 11; and finally the II order one with the isotopic stages 13 - 15. The I order terrace has probably a polyphase origin during the late Early Pleistocene - early Middle Pleistocene. In the Piana di Castelluzzo area the different heights of the inner edge of Eutyrrhenian terrace are indicative of a greater tectonic uplift in the central part of this sector (18 m a.s.l.) respect to the marginal areas (on the average 10 m a.s.l.). The correlation of the mammal deposits with the terrace succession is consistent with the aminostratigraphic and radiometric dating known in literature for the Sicilian Faunal Complexes. The Elephas falconeri Complex is correlated to the interval between isotopic stages 17 and 9, while the Elephas mnaidriensis Complex between stages 8 and 4. Three main tectonic events occurred in the area: Just after the formation of the IS and IV order terraces (stage 12 ? and 8 ? respectively) and after the Tyrrhenian. A rather moderate average uplifting rate can be inferred from our data (about 0.11 - 0,14 m/kyr) during Middle to Late Pleistocene
The mammalian succession of Sicily ans Sardinia: a tentative of correlation with the biuochronologica frame of the Italian peninsula.
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