Kosnik Matthew A, Kowalewski Michał
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Biol Lett. 2016 Apr;12(4). doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0951.
Because anthropogenic impacts on ecological systems pre-date the oldest scientific observations, historical documents and archaeological records, understanding modern extinctions requires additional data sources that extend further back in time. Palaeoecological records, which provide quantitative proxy records of ecosystems prior to human impact, are essential for understanding recent extinctions and future extinction risks. Here we critically review the value of the most recent fossil record in contributing to our understanding of modern extinctions and illustrate through case studies how naturally occurring death assemblages and Holocene sedimentary records provide context to the plight of marine ecosystems. While palaeoecological data are inherently restricted censuses of past communities (manipulative experiments are not possible), they yield quantitative records over temporal scales that are beyond the reach of ecology. Only by including palaeoecological data is it possible to fully assess the role of long-term anthropogenic processes in driving modern extinction risk.
由于人类对生态系统的影响早在最古老的科学观测、历史文献和考古记录之前就已存在，因此要了解现代物种灭绝，需要有能追溯到更久远过去的额外数据来源。古生态记录能提供人类影响之前生态系统的定量替代记录，对于理解近期物种灭绝和未来灭绝风险至关重要。在此，我们批判性地审视了最新化石记录对于我们理解现代物种灭绝的价值，并通过案例研究说明自然形成的死亡组合和全新世沉积记录如何为海洋生态系统的困境提供背景信息。虽然古生态数据本质上是对过去群落的有限普查（无法进行操纵性实验），但它们能在生态学无法企及的时间尺度上产生定量记录。只有纳入古生态数据，才有可能全面评估长期人为过程在推动现代灭绝风险方面的作用。
