"African Megafauna: Unveiling the Lost Giants and their Decline"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by SciTechDaily
A new study analyzing fossil teeth measurements reveals the decline of African megafauna over the past 10 million years. The research shows a correlation between an animal's size and its population density, with larger species having lower population densities. The study also suggests that the decline of African megafauna began around 4 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought, and was driven by environmental factors such as decreasing global temperatures and the expansion of tropical grasslands. The loss of large individuals and restructuring of biomass distributions in African large mammal communities may have been linked to decreases in primary productivity. These findings have implications for understanding ecosystem dynamics and can inform conservation efforts in the face of biodiversity loss and environmental change.