Researchers have determined the reason for the Wooly mammoth’s extinction on a remote Alaskan island. According to a recent study, the lack of water and the reduced piece of land marked the species death.
Scientists have determined mammoths disappeared from the face of the Earth 10,500 years ago. A group of Wooly mammoth’s managed to outlive that number in Alaska. A distant and remote island off the coast of Alaska served as home for a group of Wooly mammoths for 5,600 years after their species extinction. Climate changes contributed to their disappearance.
Wooly mammoth’s as a species
Wooly mammoth’s lived on Earth during the Pleistocene period, almost 11,700 years ago, as they were one of the last mammoth’s species to walk our world. These species of giant and ancient elephants, diverged from another large species known as steppe mammoths and according to researchers, the modern day Asian elephant, is the closest about the extinct species.
Science has been able to study well this species of ancient animals, thanks to the finding of frozen carcasses in Alaska and Siberia. Prehistoric paintings, as well as skeletons and teeth, have contributed to the studies.
Researchers and modern-day investigations have been able to determine that wooly mammoths were almost the same size as a current African elephant. The average height of a male mammoth was between 2.7 and 3.4 meters and weighed up to 6 tons.
The wooly mammoth’s had a ton of fur on top of their body, to protect them from the ice-cold temperatures they lived in. Making them adequate for surviving the last ice age in the Earth.
These furry giants, mainly survived by eating sedges, grass and drinking tons of water to maintain their massive body hydrated. Early humans contributed to the extinction of these beasts since they used them as fur supplements and food.
— Anooshka Rawden (@anooshka_rawden) August 2, 2016
The two last populations of Woolly mammoths lived on a small Alaska island 5,600 years ago and in Wrangel Island 4,000 years ago.
Contributing to their extinction
St. Paul Island, in Alaska, was once the home of many Wooly mammoth’s, after the rising of the Bering Sea covered a land bridge that connected the island with the rest of the world. Isolating the fur giants. Meanwhile other mammoth’s were facing human hunting, this group of mammoth’s was confronted with a different threat. The climate was changing, and the land was getting scarce which would be the cause of the disappearance.
The investigation, made by Pennsylvania State University researchers, has held thanks to the studying of mammoth DNA traces and fungal spores that were found on St. Paul’s island on a small lake. The spores helped researchers understand when the mammoth’s disappeared and by studying the lake’s sediments the team was able to determine the water condition’s at the moment.
Feeling threatened by the short amount of land, Woolly mammoths of St. Paul Island gathered around the small freshwater lakes they had left in the location. The amount of water wasn’t enough for all of the Giants.
The majority of lakes was covered in seawater, what made it even harder for the giant beasts to survive as they had to share a small amount of land and water. Researchers assure that even though the little amount of water contributed to their extinction, another factor played a key role. The gathering and congregation of the massive mammals harmed the vegetation around them. There was a significant amount of the fur giants stepping on their food source and destroying it.
“The mammoths were contributing to their own demise,” said Prof. Russell Graham, lead author of the study, to the BBC.
Wooly mammoths, as modern day elephants, consumed an enormous amount of water to remain healthy. Russell explains they drank up from 70 to 200 Lt of water per day, just as elephants do today. Climate changes didn’t help the mammoth’s situation, since there weren’t enough rainfalls or melting snow that could maintain their hydration. The merging of lack of food and water, caused the species to die very fast.
— Lisa Brouwers (@LJBrouwers) August 2, 2016
In the research, the authors explain how climate change could affect our modern day elephants in a similar way since freshwater is not an infinite resource and could eventually force many species to disappear.
Source: BBC News
Watafiti wameamua sababu ya kutoweka kwa mammoth wa sufu katika kisiwa cha mbali cha Alaska. Kulingana na utafiti wa hivi karibuni, ukosefu wa maji na upungufu wa ardhi ulionyesha kwamba spishi hiyo ilikufa. Wanasayansi wamegundua kwamba mamoths walitoweka kwenye uso wa dunia miaka 10,500 iliyopita. Kikundi cha mamati wa sufu kilifaulu kuishi kuliko idadi hiyo huko Alaska. Kisiwa cha mbali karibu na pwani ya Alaska kilitumika kama makao ya kundi la mammoths wa Woolly kwa miaka 5,600 baada ya kutoweka kwa spishi yao. Mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa yalisababisha kutoweka kwao. Mamoths ya Woolly ni spishi ya mamoths ya Woolly ambayo iliishi duniani katika kipindi cha Pleistocene, karibu miaka 11,700 iliyopita, kama wao walikuwa moja ya spishi za mwisho za mamoths kutembea dunia yetu. "Kama ilivyo kwa tembo wa Asia wa kisasa, ""mamboti"" ni aina ya tembo wa kale wa Asia, ambao ni tofauti na aina nyingine ya tembo inayojulikana kama mammoths ya steppe, ambayo ni karibu zaidi na aina iliyopotea." Sayansi imeweza kujifunza vizuri juu ya spishi hii ya wanyama wa kale, kwa sababu ya kupatikana kwa mifupa iliyohifadhiwa huko Alaska na Siberia. Michoro ya kabla ya historia, pamoja na mifupa na meno, imechangia masomo hayo. Watafiti wa kisasa wamegundua kwamba mamati wa aina ya woolly walikuwa na ukubwa sawa na wa tembo wa Afrika. Kwa kawaida, mamati wa kiume walikuwa na urefu wa mita 2.7 hadi 3.4 na uzito wa tani 6. Mamoth wenye sufu walikuwa na manyoya mengi juu ya mwili wao, ili kuwalinda dhidi ya halijoto baridi sana waliyokuwa wakiishi. Kwa hivyo, ni muhimu sana kwa watu kuishi katika kipindi cha mwisho cha barafu duniani. Wanyama hao wakubwa wenye manyoya mengi waliishi kwa kula nyasi na kunywa maji mengi ili kudumisha maji mwilini mwao. Wanadamu wa mapema walichangia kutoweka kwa wanyama hao kwa kuwa waliwatumia kama nywele na chakula. Mnyama huyo anaitwa Anushka Roden, na aliishi katika kisiwa kimoja cha Alaska miaka 5,600 iliyopita na katika kisiwa cha Wrangel miaka 4,000 iliyopita. Kisiwa cha St. Paul, Alaska, kilikuwa makao ya mamati wengi wa Woolly baada ya kuongezeka kwa Bahari ya Bering kufunika daraja la ardhi lililohusisha kisiwa hicho na ulimwengu wote. Kutenganisha majitu ya manyoya. Wakati huohuo mamoth wengine walikuwa wakikabiliwa na uwindaji wa kibinadamu, kikundi hiki cha mamoth kilikabiliwa na tisho tofauti. Hali ya hewa ilikuwa ikibadilika, na ardhi ilikuwa ikizidi kupungua ambayo ingekuwa sababu ya kutoweka. Utafiti huo uliofanywa na watafiti wa Chuo Kikuu cha Jimbo la Pennsylvania, umeshikilia kwa sababu ya kuchunguza alama za DNA ya mamut na spora za kuvu zilizopatikana kwenye kisiwa cha St. Paul kwenye ziwa dogo. Spora hizo zilisaidia watafiti kuelewa ni lini mamoths zilipotea na kwa kusoma matope ya ziwa hilo timu hiyo iliweza kuamua hali ya maji kwa wakati huo. Wakiwa wameogopa kwa sababu ya upungufu wa ardhi, mamati wa St. Paul walikusanyika karibu na maziwa madogo ya maji baridi waliyokuwa wameyaacha. Kiasi cha maji hakikutosha kwa ajili ya Giants wote. Maziwa mengi yalikuwa yamefunikwa na maji ya bahari, na hivyo ikawa vigumu zaidi kwa wanyama hao kuokoka kwa kuwa walilazimika kushiriki sehemu ndogo ya ardhi na maji. Watafiti wanathibitisha kwamba ingawa kiasi kidogo cha maji kilichangia kutoweka kwao, jambo jingine lilichangia sana. Mkusanyiko na kusanyiko la mamalia hao wakubwa kuliharibu mimea iliyokuwa karibu nao. Kulikuwa na idadi kubwa ya majitu ya manyoya yaliyokuwa yakitembea juu ya chanzo chao cha chakula na kuiharibu. "Mamoths walikuwa wakichangia kifo chao wenyewe", Profesa Russell Graham, mwandishi mkuu wa utafiti huo, aliliambia BBC. Mamoths wa sufu, kama tembo wa kisasa, walitumia kiasi kikubwa cha maji ili wawe na afya. Russell anaeleza kwamba walikunywa lita 70 hadi 200 za maji kwa siku, kama vile tembo wanavyofanya leo. Mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa hayakusaidia hali ya mamasi, kwa kuwa hakukuwa na mvua za kutosha au theluji inayeyuka ambayo ingeweza kudumisha maji yao. Kuunganishwa kwa ukosefu wa chakula na maji, kulisababisha spishi hiyo kufa haraka sana. Lisa Brouwers (@LJBrowser) Agosti 2, 2016 Katika utafiti, waandishi wanaelezea jinsi mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa yanaweza kuathiri tembo zetu za kisasa kwa njia sawa kwani maji safi si rasilimali isiyo na mwisho na inaweza hatimaye kulazimisha spishi nyingi kutoweka. Chanzo: Habari za BBC