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Megafauna Research Journal

The research journal investigates the extinction of megafauna in Australia, focusing on two primary theories: climate change and Indigenous migration. Evidence suggests that climate change led to reduced food and water availability, while other studies indicate that human hunting activities significantly contributed to the extinction rates. Ultimately, the journal concludes that human migration and hunting had a more compelling impact on megafauna extinction than climate change.

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9 views5 pages

Megafauna Research Journal

The research journal investigates the extinction of megafauna in Australia, focusing on two primary theories: climate change and Indigenous migration. Evidence suggests that climate change led to reduced food and water availability, while other studies indicate that human hunting activities significantly contributed to the extinction rates. Ultimately, the journal concludes that human migration and hunting had a more compelling impact on megafauna extinction than climate change.

Uploaded by

flynn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Flynn Cutler 7D Megafauna Research Journal – Final Copy

Megafauna Research Journal


Inquiry Question: What evidence supports the theories that climate change OR Indigenous migration caused the extinction of the
Megafauna, and which theory has the most evidentiary weight?
Sub Question 1: what evidence supports the theory that climate change caused the extinction of the megafauna.
Sub Question 2: what evidence supports the theory that indigenous migration caused the extinction of the megafauna.
Sub Question 3: which theory has the most evidentiary weight.

Theory 1: Climate change Theory 2: indigenous migration


Source Name: Nature Communications Source Name: Wiley Online Library
URL/Page: Climate change, not human population growth, correlates with URL/Page: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1834-
Late Quaternary megafauna declines in North America | Nature 4453.1993.tb00320.x
Communications
Linking tools to human hunting activity in Cuddie NSW Australia, linking
Scientists have researched some fossilized teeth that suggests that to the over hunting of the megafauna.
climate change took out the Australian megafaunas. The teeth are from
Cuddie Springs NSW.
Significant validated scientific evidence has emerged from Cuddie
Springs, NSW Australia. Investigating the impacts of climate on the
symbiotic relationships between prehistoric man and megafauna
Source Name: Cambridge Core Source Name: Nature Communications
URL/Page: Dietary responses of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia–New Guinea) URL/Page: Humans rather than climate the primary cause of Pleistocene
megafauna to climate and environmental change | Paleobiology | Cambridge megafaunal extinction in Australia | Nature Communications
Core
88 Species disappearance thought to be caused by climate change. More than 85% of Australian terrestrial genera with a body mass
Analyzed fossil teeth with old food deposits exceeding 44kg became extinct in the late Pleistocene.
Source Name: forbes.com. Source Name: Royal Society
URL/Page: New Evidence Reveals Climate Change Killed The Big URL/Page: Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans,
Animals Of Australia's Ice Age (forbes.com) not climate change | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
(royalsocietypublishing.org)
Scientists used much more accurate equipment to learn more about International studies have concluded a strong connection between
why the megafauna went extinct because of climate change. Human migration and megafauna extinction rates.

Sub Question 3 which theory has the most evidentiary weight


Most Credible Theory: that climate change
Most compelling evidence: indigenous migration
Flynn Cutler 7D Megafauna Research Journal – Final Copy

Paragraph

Paragraph Structure

 State Your Point: state the point you are going to make in the paragraph.
 Sub Question 1: Present the first theory and the evidence that supports it.
 Sub Question 2: Present the second theory and the evidence that supports it.
 Sub Question 3: State the most credible theory and most compelling evidence.

Student Paragraph: The megafaunas were large animals that roamed the land of Australia 45,000 years ago.
Flynn Cutler 7D Megafauna Research Journal – Final Copy

Climate change journals suggest a direct link to the extinction of megafaunas mainly due to the drying out of Australia reducing food
and water availability (DeSantis et al.,2017). Carbon-dating identified food deposits in fossilised megafauna teeth highlighting dietary
restriction and reduced vegetation availability impacting population density (DeSantis et al.,2017). “Decreases in global temperature
correlated with megafauna population declines” (Stewart, M., et al., 2021), the megafauna's food source was becoming less
available. Opposing journals theorise migrations of the predatory species humans had a direct connection to the extinction of the
megafauna species (Sandom, C., et al., 2014). Stone tools uncovered from archaeological sites support that humans were a predatory
species and overhunted megafauna leading to extinction (Dodson, J., et al., 1993). Carbon dating Genyornis eggshells found that these
creatures were prominent in the area 100,000 years ago and then suddenly vanished 50,000 years ago, correlating with human
inhabitancies (Miller, G. H et al., 1999). International studies have concluded a strong connection between Human migration and
megafauna extinction rates, not only in Australia but also in North America (Sandom, C., et al., 2014). The most credible and
compelling evidence from the journals leads to a conclusion, human hunting activities and migration directly impacted and led to
megafauna extinction rather than climate change (Van der Kaars et al., 2017). Archaeological digs have carbon-dated tools and
weapons that were designed for hunting large animals, such as megafauna (Miller, G. H et al., 1999). These tools and weapons
carbon-dating line up with the extinction timeline of the megafauna (Miller, G. H et al., 1999). This correlates a direct connection
between human migration and overhunting of the megafaunas, causing a fast decline in species numbers, and ultimately causing
extinction (Van der Kaars et al., 2017). Evidence supports the more credible evidence human activities were the cause of megafauna
extinction. This is the only way species numbers can have dropped so quickly in such a short amount of time (Miller, G. H et al., 1999).
Flynn Cutler 7D Megafauna Research Journal – Final Copy

Reference:

DeSantis, L.R.G., Field, J. H., Wroe, S., Dodson, J. R. (2017). Dietary response of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea)
megafauna to climate change and environmental change. Paleobiology, 43(2),181-195. https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2016.50

Dodson, J., Fullagar, R., Furby, J., Jones, R., & Posser, I. (1993) Humans and megafauna in a late Pleistocene environment
from Cuddie Springs, north western New South Wales https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4453.1993.tb00320.x

Miller, G. H., Magee, J. W., Johnson, B. J., Fogel, M. L., Spooner, N. A., Mcculloch, M. T., & Ayliffe, L. K. (1999) Plestiocone on
extinction Genyornis newtoni:human impact on Australian Megafaunas. (1999). Science, 283(5399), 205-208.
https://10.1126/science.283.5399.205

Montanari, S., (2017, Jan 26). New Evidence Reveals Climate Change Killed the big animals of Australia’s Ice age. Forbes. New
Evidence Reveals Climate Change Killed The Big Animals Of Australia's Ice Age (forbes.com)

Sandom, C., Faurby, S., Sandek, B., & Svenning J. (2014). Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans, not
climate change. The Royal Society, 281(1787). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.3254

Stewart, M., Carleton, C. W., & Groucutt. (2022). Climate Change, not human population growth, correlates with Late Quaternary
megafauna declines in North America. Nature Communications, 12(2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21201-8
Flynn Cutler 7D Megafauna Research Journal – Final Copy

Van der Kaars, S., Miller G. H., Turney C. S. M., Cook, E. J., Nurnberg, D., Schonfeld, J., Kershaw, P. A., & Lehman, J. S.
(2017). Humans rather than climate the primary cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in Australia. Nature
Communications, Volume Issue 14142(2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14142

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