晚更新世以来浙江余姚地区植被变化及人类活动

浙江余姚河姆渡镇7 m钻孔的孢粉记录提供了晚更新世以来的植被变化及其反映的气候变化和人类活动的历史.在全新世海侵之前,研究区发育常绿落叶阔叶混交林.全新世早中期,海侵发生,植被由亚热带针阔叶混交林发展为常绿落叶阔叶混交林,碳屑和禾本科(≥35/μm)花粉的增高说明,可能在河姆渡文化之前,研究区已经有人类活动.7 cal.kyr BP之后,高含量的禾本科(≥35 μm)花粉表明钻孔点的临近地区有水稻种植.亚热带与温带乔木花粉的比值(sub/tem)显示,在8 cal.kyr BP之前的海侵期间,浙江余姚地区气候最温暖湿润;7.5-5.86cal.kyr BP期间,温度低于海侵期但是仍然属于全新世暖期,温度高于现在;5.86 cal.kyr BP之后,温度下降;4cal.kyr BP之后温度进一步下降,接近现在.     

MAMMALIAN EXTINCTIONS IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE OF NORTHERN EURASIA AND NORTH AMERICA

The 'mass extinctions' at the end of the Pleistocene were unique, both in the Pleistocene and earlier in the geological record, in that the species lost were nearly all large terrestrial mammals. Although a global phenomenon, late Pleistocene extinctions were most severe in North America, South America and Australia, and moderate in northern Eurasia (Europe plus Soviet Asia). In Africa, where nearly all of the late Pleistocene 'megafauna' survives to the present day, losses were slight. Ruling out epidemic disease or cosmic catastrophe, the contending hypotheses to explain late Pleistocene extinctions are: (a) failure to adapt to climatic/environmental change; and (b) extermination by human hunters ('prehistoric overkill'). This review focuses on extinctions in northern Eurasia (mainly Europe) in comparison with North America. In addition to reviewing the faunal evidence, the highly relevant environmental and archaeological backgrounds are summarized. The latest survival dates of extinct species are estimated from stratigraphic occurrences of fossil remains, radiocarbon dates, or association with archaeological industries. The Middle and Upper Pleistocene (ca. 700,000-10,000 BP) in northern Eurasia and North America was a time of constantly changing climate, ranging from phases of extensive glaciation in cold stages, to temperate periods (interglacials). In the Lateglacial (ca. 15,000-10,000 BP), during which most extinctions occurred, there was a major reorganization of vegetation, mainly involving the replacement of open vegetation by forests. These changes were more profound than earlier in the Last Cold Stage, but similar in nature to vegetational changes that took place at previous cold stage/interglacial transitions. The archaeological record shows that humans have been present in Europe since the early Middle Pleistocene. The arrival in Europe ca. 35,000 BP of 'anatomically modern humans', with their technologically more advanced upper palaeolithic industries, was a 'quantum leap' in human history. Extinctions occurred throughout the European Pleistocene, but until the late Pleistocene most losses were replaced by the evolution or immigration of new species, and most of those lost without replacement were small mammals. In marked contrast, extinctions without replacement in the late Pleistocene were almost entirely confined to the largest mammals (greater than 1000 kg) and some medium-large species (100-1000 kg).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

中国古人类牙齿尺寸演化特点及东亚直立人的系统地位

对中国境内不同时代人类牙齿测量数据的发析显示,中国古人类牙齿尺寸的总体演化趋势与世界其它地区人类一致,呈缩小变化,其中一个表现特点是中国直立人与早期智人在牙齿尺寸上不差别不大,但作者根据对中国古人类化石形态特征,生存年代等方面的综合分析认为中国直立人在化石形态,生存年代等方面均与智人有明显的不同,取消直立人,将其并入智人意见的证据还是不够充分的,目前仍宜将直立人与智人作为人属内两个不同的种来看待,     

中国晚更新世猛犸象(Mammuthus)扩散事件的探讨

大型哺乳动物真猛犸象在晚更新世时曾广泛分布北半球辽阔的地区。据最近的研究表明,在我国它曾覆盖了从北纬55°到北纬35°的广大区域。已发现的众多猛犸象化石地点中,有不少已作过详细的同位素年代测定。从生物地层学和同位素年代学的角度,纵观真猛犸象从极地侵入我国境内及其繁盛衰亡的演变史,不难看出真猛犸象在我国北方晚更新世晚期曾有过两次比较集中的活动高潮,并每次都伴随有明显的向南迁徙。它的第一次南迁大致发生在距今3．4－2．6万年前（或可能略早）,策二次南迁大致发生在距今2．3－1．2万年前。真猛犸象的这两次南迁活动与本次冰期两次较明显的冷暖交替的小气候波动在时间上大体吻合。     

贵州大干坝孢粉分析与古环境探讨

大干坝洼地发育了一套晚更新世河湖相地层,富含孢粉,明显可分两段：两万三千多年前为茂密的亚热带山地森林,水青冈属一度占优势;两万三千多年后森林稀化,蕨类植物生长,尔后阳性树种恢复,这反映该地从大理间冰段（阶）向盛冰期过渡时,环境条件发生了跳跃式的变化。     

黄海中部晚更新世以来的环境变迁

通过黄海中部陆架浅海区QC_2孔岩芯的孢粉分析,证明晚更新世以来此区存在暖—冷—暖三个大的气候期,各期中还间有数个气候亚期。这种气候变化模式可与北欧和加勒比海地区进行对比。其中,距今约120 000—70 000年的第一气候期,该地区地处亚热带,气候温暖湿润,沿岸适合阔叶林生长,此时为全球性海侵时期。距今70 000—10 000年,气候变冷,该地区只海退后被草原植被所覆盖,阔叶林植被基本消失。全新世气温回升,该地区又被海水淹没,阔叶林又回到沿岸地区,但在全新世的晚期,可能受人类活动的影响,阔叶林大面积减少,松和芒萁等次生植被大面积生长,而使其孢粉含量在沉积物中迅速增长。     

长白山区晚更新世以来孢粉-古植被古气候重建及其与植被关系综述

长白山区分布的泥炭地与玛珥湖是孢粉的良好载体,适宜开展晚更新世以来孢粉分析重建古植被与古气候研究以对该区未来气候变化进行准确预测。几十年来,该研究经历了从定性描述—半定量重建—定量重建的三个阶段。随着对研究剖面样本采集密度的增加,研究者们也得以观察到更多气候变化事件,尝试提出了气候周期性变化规律,并初步探索了气候变化驱动机制;同时,为了提高定量重建古植被、古气候的准确性,对长白山区也开展了现代孢粉植被关系研究,并取得了一定成果。相信随着对现代孢粉植被关系认识的加深,古植被、古气候重建精度的提高,研究者能够更准确地预测未来气候变化。     

江苏太滆地区晚更新世以来古生物群及环境

本文重点研究江苏武进市南部太（湖）（湖）地区ＺＫ０１、ＺＫ０２、ＺＫ０３和ＺＫ０４孔海侵层微体古生物有孔虫、介形类、钙质超微化石组合和双壳类、腹足类等大化石的地层分布,丰度、分异度的变化和生态环境特征,结合沉积物结构分析和１４Ｃ年龄测定,证实晚更新世以来本地区经历了太湖海侵、湖海侵和镇江海侵,较全面地论证了每次海侵影响范围和沉积环境类型。其中湖海侵分布面积最大,高峰期可能波及卜弋周围,微体化石丰富,有孔虫组合中出现浮游型种类,反映了开放性海湾环境;太湖海侵范围限于卢家巷—马杭一线以南,化石较少,时有淡水种类出现,代表边滩泻湖—半封闭海湾环境;镇江海侵层仅见于卜弋ＺＫ０１孔,化石稀少,沉积物以亚砂土、亚粘土为主,是潮间带－潮坪相的产物     

北京门头沟牛眼洞晚更新世哺乳动物化石

北京市门头沟牛眼洞产有豹、岩羊和纳呼尔绵羊等３种哺乳动物化石。其中豹化石尺 寸相当小,小于所有已知的化石记录,根据贝格曼法则以及与现代豹不同亚种的对比,表明它 应该是一种热带和亚热带的动物,这一发现指示当时的气候环境正处于间冰阶的暖期中。结 合整个哺乳动物化石的性质,说明其时代为晚更新世晚期。     

东北二龙湾玛珥湖晚更新世晚期植被与环境变化的孢粉记录

东北二龙湾玛珥湖孢粉记录显示,34 ka B.P.以来,该区植被和气候经历了以下变化:34-29.3 ka B.P.,发育山地寒温性针叶林,气候冷湿.29.3-12.6 ka B.P.,该区以寒温性针叶林、桦树林为主,气候转向冷干发展,尤其在20.6-18.7 ka B.P.(LGM)时,表现最为突出.12.6-8.9 ka B.P.,该区植被为针阔叶混交林,气候由冷干向温湿逐渐过渡,8.9-4.6 ka B.P.,为落叶阔叶林,气候温暖湿润.4.6 ka B.P.至今,发育针阔叶混交林,气候向温凉转干方向发展.研究表明,MIS3a阶段,以二龙湾为代表的中国东北东部气候以冷湿为主要特征,而末次冰期对该区的影响直到12.6 ka B.P.以后才结束.     

澳大利亚库布尔溪更新世人骨的颏孔高度

库布尔溪(Coobool Creek)人骨是1950年乔·布莱克(Black)从澳大利亚新南威尔士南部的莫莱河流域中段的马兰(Mallan)镇附近发现的,现在存放在澳大利亚的墨尔本大学解剖学系,少量标本存在新英格兰大学史前学和考古学系。作者在这批人骨的下颌骨上测量了颏孔高度和颏孔处下颌体高度,并用这两项数据计算出颏孔高度指数,结果表明这三项数据的个体变异和左右侧变异都很大,但三个项目的左侧平均数和右侧平     

THE MICRO AND MACRO IN BODY SIZE EVOLUTION

The diversity of body sizes of organisms has traditionally been explained in terms of microevolutionary processes: natural selection owing to differential fitness of individual organisms, or to macroevolutionary processes: species selection owing to the differential proliferation of phylogenetic lineages. Data for terrestrial mammals and birds indicate that even on a logarithmic scale frequency distributions of body mass among species are significantly skewed towards larger sizes. We used simulation models to evaluate the extent to which macro- and microevolutionary processes are sufficient to explain these distributions. Simulations of a purely cladogenetic process with no bias in extinction or speciation rates for different body sizes did not produce skewed log body mass distributions. Simulations that included size-biased extinction rates, especially those that incorporated anagenetic size change within species between speciation and extinction events, regularly produced skewed distributions. We conclude that although cladogenetic processes probably play a significant role in body size evolution, there must also be a significant anagenetic component. The regular variation in the form of mammalian body size distributions among different-sized islands and continents suggests that environmental conditions, operating through both macro- and microevolutionary processes, determine to a large extent the diversification of body sizes within faunas. Macroevolution is not decoupled from microevolution.     

乌尔吉晚更新世动物群和古生态环境

乌尔吉地区晚更新世地层出露广泛,哺乳动物化石常有发现.乌尔吉动物群属于猛犸象—披毛犀动物群,其时代为晚更新世晚期.动物群的生态性质明显反映了当时应为寒温带湿冷草原为主间有疏林和少量灌丛的自然景观.