Data from: Environmental correlates of the Late Quaternary regional extinctions of large and small Palaearctic mammals ...

• Main Authors: Řičánková, Věra Pavelková, Horsák, Michal, Hais, Martin, Robovský, Jan, Chytrý, Milan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2017
• Subjects: Vormela peregusna; Sorex araneus sl; Eptesicus nilssonii; Sicista kazbegica; Dicrostonyx torquatus sl; Muscardinus avellanarius; Sorex thaleri; Rhinolophus mehelyi; Apodemus agrarius; Talpa stankovici; Murina hilgendorfi; Spalax microphtalmus; Spermophilus citelloides; Crocidura suaveolens sl; Microtus liechtensteini; Rhinolophus bocharicus; Ellobius talpinus; Marmota baibacina; Cricetulus migratorius; Ochotona pallasi; Marmota caudata; Cricetus cricetus; Ochotona macrotis; Bos grunniens sl; Sorex satunini; Myotis nattereri; Paraechinus hypomelas; Microtus guentheri; Ovibos moschatus sl; Sicista caucasica; Spermophilus relictus; Allactaga elater; Lagurus lagurus; Nyctalus lasiopterus; Ursus thibetanus; Bos primigenius; Lemmus sibiricus; Hemiechinus auritus; Spermophilus xanthoprymnus; Holocene; Sorex alpinus; Allocricetulus eversmanni; Selevinia betpakdalaensis; Ochotona alpina; Talpa caeca; Capreolus capreolus; Martes zibellina; Nyctalus leisleri; Pteromys volans; Spermophilus erythrogenys; Dicrostonyx torquatus; ovibos moschatus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.62p1q; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.62p1q

Most studies of mammal extinctions during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition explore the relative effects of climate change vs. human impacts on these extinctions, but the relative importance of the different environmental factors involved remains poorly understood. Moreover, these studies are strongly biased towards megafauna, which may have been more influenced by human hunting than species of small body size. We examined the potential environmental causes of Pleistocene–Holocene mammal extinctions by linking regional environmental characteristics with the regional extinction rates of large and small mammals in 14 Palaearctic regions. We found that regional extinction rates were larger for megafauna, but extinction patterns across regions were similar for both size groups, emphasizing the importance of environmental change as an extinction factor as opposed to hunting. Still, the bias towards megafauna extinctions was larger in Southern Europe and smaller in central Eurasia. The loss of suitable habitats, ... : Data_Pavelkova_Ricankova_et_al_2017_EcographyA matrix of occurrences of 346 mammal species in 14 Palaearctic regions in the Last Glacial and the Recent period. ...