據(jù)5月22日的《科學(xué)》雜志報(bào)道說(shuō),，在過(guò)去的40年中，大象,、犀牛和長(zhǎng)頸鹿在非洲大草原上生生息息,，它們死后的遺骨可靠地反映了這些動(dòng)物群體是如何適應(yīng)生態(tài)變化的。 保護(hù)生物學(xué)家和古生物學(xué)家在利用遺骨和化石來(lái)重構(gòu)古代生態(tài)社群時(shí)一般會(huì)做一個(gè)小小的主觀假定,。 如今,，研究人員采用了一種非常耐心的方法來(lái)評(píng)估死去動(dòng)物的遺存物究竟是如何反映活著的動(dòng)物的社群的。
David Western 和Anna K. Behrensmeyer對(duì)肯尼亞南部的Amboseli生態(tài)系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行了為期40年的研究,。他們分析了在過(guò)去的40年中,，在整個(gè)非洲大草原上死去的15種食草動(dòng)物的骨組合。
研究人員將骨紀(jì)錄與這些動(dòng)物的群體組成和棲息地的變化進(jìn)行了比較,，這些變化是由從茂密的森林和灌木叢演變?yōu)楦鼮殚_(kāi)闊的有著較大沼澤地的草原所驅(qū)動(dòng)的,。 隨著棲息地的這一變化，食草動(dòng)物的豐沛程度相對(duì)于食葉動(dòng)物來(lái)說(shuō)有所增加,，而物種的豐富程度則減少了,。 研究人員報(bào)告說(shuō)，動(dòng)物的骨組合的確精準(zhǔn)地尾隨著這些變化,，其間隔期可以短至5年,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Science 22 May 2009:DOI: 10.1126/science.1171155
Bone Assemblages Track Animal Community Structure over 40 Years in an African Savanna Ecosystem
David Western1 and Anna K. Behrensmeyer2
Reconstructing ancient communities depends on how accurately fossil assemblages retain information about living populations. We report a high level of fidelity between modern bone assemblages and living populations based on a 40-year study of the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya. Relative abundance of 15 herbivorous species recorded in the bone assemblage accurately tracks the living populations through major changes in community composition and habitat over intervals as short as 5 years. The aggregated bone sample provides an accurate record of community structure time-averaged over four decades. These results lay the groundwork for integrating paleobiological and contemporary ecological studies across evolutionary and ecological time scales. Bone surveys also provide a useful method of assessing population changes and community structure for modern vertebrates.
1 African Conservation Center, Box 62844, Nairobi, Kenya.
2 Department of Paleobiology, MRC 121, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Post Office Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013–7012, USA.
