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(Phys Org2)   Researchers say first major expansion of humans in Madagascar 1,000 years ago is linked to loss of large-bodied vertebrates, including giant lemurs, elephant birds, turtles, and hippopotami. Humans one, biodiversity nil   (phys.org) divider line
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    More: Obvious, World population, Africa, Madagascar, Genetics, Population ecology, Demography, Human genome, Population  
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377 clicks; posted to STEM » on 06 Nov 2022 at 9:50 PM (19 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



21 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
Devolving_Spud [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-06 6:19:37 PM  
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roddikinsathome [TotalFark]
2022-11-06 6:40:08 PM  
I assume they were peckish.
 
Outshined_One [TotalFark]
2022-11-06 7:24:43 PM  
Shut.
Down.
EVERYTHING.
 
coffeetime [TotalFark]
2022-11-06 8:01:19 PM  
I'm guessing they were delicious.
 
mofa [TotalFark]
2022-11-06 8:10:30 PM  
We seem to have a very specific purpose.
 
educated [TotalFark]
2022-11-06 8:58:34 PM  

mofa: We seem to have a very specific purpose.


Yes we do.
 
Ivo Shandor [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-06 9:51:38 PM  
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neeNHA
2022-11-06 10:34:28 PM  
cdn.britannica.comView Full Size


Giant lemurs?
 
X-Geek
2022-11-06 11:24:38 PM  
... and lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats...
 
Ivo Shandor [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-06 11:33:17 PM  

X-Geek: ... and lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats...


Skip a bit, Brother...
 
r0rw
2022-11-07 12:42:38 AM  

Devolving_Spud: [Fark user image 800x999]


I think that's still up in the Bronx Zoo
 
r0rw
2022-11-07 12:43:41 AM  
The whole story of that island and the details of the migration of the Malagasy people is one of the oddest things in history.
 
The_Sponge [TotalFark]
2022-11-07 1:16:44 AM  
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khatores
2022-11-07 2:48:52 AM  
I was going to make a snarky comment about "elephant birds" but then I thought I needed some artwork to go with it, so I Googled it, hoping for an elephant with wings and...it's a real thing. Or was, until humans wiped them out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird
 
Wave Of Anal Fury
2022-11-07 6:28:12 AM  
media.tenor.comView Full Size

Wait until you see how many other animals we drive into extinction.
 
Marksrevenge
2022-11-07 7:52:21 AM  
We have broken the game. We've advanced our tech enough to kill off any land based megafauna we want to, and a lot of water based as well even though we don't live underwater. Not smart enough collectively, though, to avoid doing so. Even to ourselves.
 
Calamity Gin [OhFark]
2022-11-07 8:54:18 AM  
I just can't get over that humans didn't reach Madagascar until approximately 1000 years ago. I mean, it's right fricking there, 200 miles off the coast of the continent we evolved on. We made it to Australia 60,000 years ago, and that's a 15,000 mile walk with some serious swimming at the end.
 
DON.MAC [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-07 9:07:07 AM  

Calamity Gin: I just can't get over that humans didn't reach Madagascar until approximately 1000 years ago. I mean, it's right fricking there, 200 miles off the coast of the continent we evolved on. We made it to Australia 60,000 years ago, and that's a 15,000 mile walk with some serious swimming at the end.


It gets stranger because the island was settled by people from Indonesia heading back to Africa.
 
FLMountainMan
2022-11-07 9:18:20 AM  

Calamity Gin: I just can't get over that humans didn't reach Madagascar until approximately 1000 years ago. I mean, it's right fricking there, 200 miles off the coast of the continent we evolved on. We made it to Australia 60,000 years ago, and that's a 15,000 mile walk with some serious swimming at the end.


Sao Tome and Principe are 140 miles off the coast of West Africa and were unpopulated until the Portuguese settled them in the 1500s.
 
steve_wmn
2022-11-07 11:47:47 AM  

Calamity Gin: I just can't get over that humans didn't reach Madagascar until approximately 1000 years ago. I mean, it's right fricking there, 200 miles off the coast of the continent we evolved on. We made it to Australia 60,000 years ago, and that's a 15,000 mile walk with some serious swimming at the end.


There was a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia 60,000 years ago, which meant the big water crossings were in Indonesia. And those aren't too bad actually. I think the longest would be between Borneo and Sulawesi at a little over 40 miles. Sulawesi is fairly mountainous so it might have been sighted from waters reasonably near Borneo.

A 200 mile journey in an outrigger canoe might have been too far, especially if you have no idea there's something at the end of the trip.
 
rudemix [OhFark]
2022-11-07 6:06:11 PM  

Marksrevenge: We have broken the game. We've advanced our tech enough to kill off any land based megafauna we want to, and a lot of water based as well even though we don't live underwater. Not smart enough collectively, though, to avoid doing so. Even to ourselves.


I recently listened to an audiobook and it said by time tech using humans made it to North America they had far outpaced the mega-fauna's ability to defend itself and evolve quick enough to survive. It made the point that the mega-fauna in Africa that survived did so due to evolving in tandem with humans learning to use technology. It was quite staggering the amounts of species extincted in North America by humans.
 
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