Niche exploitation profiles predict the palaeoclimate of tropical mammal communities

Abstract

There are multiple ways in which fossil mammal communities can be used to reconstruct palaeoenvironments, but their relationship to paleoclimate conditions is less clear. In this study, we used a database of mammal species present at 167 modern localities across the tropical zone to construct niche profiles in which each taxon is assigned to a locomotor and diet behaviour category. Cluster analysis identifies significantly different groups of localities on the basis of these profiles, driven by their relative proportion of terrestrial herbivores, terrestrial animalivores, arboreal frugivores, and terrestrial frugivores. These groups are shown to vary according to climate, particularly to aspects of precipitation. We added three Plio-Pleistocene fossil localities to our analytical model to reconstruct their palaeoclimates based on their niche exploitation profiles: Esquina Blanca (Uquía Formation), Argentina, Laetoli, Tanzania, and Thum (Tham) Wimam Nakim (Snake Cave), Thailand. In accordance with independent studies, we show Esquina Blanca to have had a low rainfall and seasonal climate and Laetoli a moderately low rainfall climate. Thum Wimam Nakim falls in a moderate rainfall, moderate temperature climate cluster, but is likely to be a non-analog community.