Past and present vegetation ecology of Laetoli, Tanzania

Journal of Human Evolution

Volumn 54, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 78-98

  Andrews, Peter ^a   Bamford, Marion ^b  

^a DEPARTMENT OF LIFE SCIENCES   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Climate; Habitat variability; Hominins; Rainfall; Soil; Topography

Indexed keywords

CLIMATE CHANGE; CLIMATE EFFECT; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT; ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR; FOREST ECOSYSTEM; FOSSIL; HABITAT USE; MAMMAL; PALEOCLIMATE; PALEOECOLOGY; PLIOCENE; VEGETATION; WOODLAND;

AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA; TANZANIA;

ACACIA; ACACIA DREPANOLOBIUM; ALBIZIA; CELTIS; COMBRETUM; CROTON; DOMBEYA; MAMMALIA;

EID: 38349095286     PISSN: 00472484     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.05.012     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Alemseged Z., Spoor F., Kimbel W.H., Bobe R., Geraads D., Reed D., and Wynn G. A juvenile early hominin skeleton from Dikika, Ethiopia. Nature 443 (2006) 296-301
2. Anderson G.D. Some weakly developed soils of the eastern Serengeti Plains, Tanganyika. Afr. Soils 8 (1963) 339-347
3. Anderson G.D., and Herlocker D. Soil factors affecting the distribution of the vegetation types and their utilization by wild animals in Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania. J. Ecol. 61 (1973) 627-651
4. Anderson G.D., and Talbot L.M. Soil factors affecting the distribution of grassland types and their utilization by wild animals on the Serengeti plains, Tanganyika. J. Ecol. 53 (1965) 33-55
5. Andrews P. Palaeoecology of Laetoli. J. Hum. Evol. 18 (1989) 173-181
6. Andrews P. Palaeoecology and hominoid palaeoenvironments. Biol. Rev. 71 (1996) 257-300
7. Andrews P. Taphonomic effects of faunal impoverishment and faunal mixing. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 241 (2006) 572-589
8. Andrews, P., Bamford, M., Njau, E.-F., Leliyo, G., in press. The ecology of the Laetoli area. In: T. Harrison (Ed.), Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli, Tanzania: Human Evolution in Context, vol. 1: Geology, Geochronology, Paleoecology and Paleoenvironment. Springer, Dordrecht.
9. Andrews P., Groves C.P., and Horne J.F.M. The ecology of the Lower Tana River Flood Plain. J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc. 151 (1975) 1-31
10. Andrews P., and Humphrey L. African Miocene environments and the transition to early hominines. In: Bromage T., and Schrenk F. (Eds). African Biogeography, Climate Change, and Early Hominid Evolution (1999), Oxford University Press, Oxford 282-300
11. Andrews P., Lord J.M., and Nesbit Evans E.M. Patterns of ecological diversity in fossil and modern mammalian faunas. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 11 (1979) 177-205
12. Andrews P., and O'Brien E. Climate, vegetation and predictable gradients in mammal species richness in southern Africa. J. Zool. Lond. 251 (2000) 205-231
13. Bamford, M.K. Description of Pliocene woods from the Upper Laetolil Beds at Noiti, Laetoli, northern Tanzania. IAWA Bulletin, in preparation.
14. Bamford, M.K., Harrison, T., 2004. Pliocene vegetation and palaeoenvironment of Laetoli, Tanzania: evidence from fossil woods. Abstract, Paleoanthropology Society Meeting, Montreal, Canada, 30-31 March.
15. Beentje H. Kenya Trees, Shrubs and Lianas (1994), Kenya National Museum, Nairobi
16. Bonnefille R., Potts R., Chalie F., Jolly D., and Peyron O. High resolution vegetation and climate change associated with Pliocene Australopithecus afarensis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 101 (2004) 12125-12129
17. Bonnefille R., and Riollet G. Palynological spectra from the Upper Laetolil Beds. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 52-61
18. Brunet M., Beauvilain A., Coppens Y., Heintz E., Moutaye A., and Pilbeam D. The first australopithecine 2500 km west of the rift valley. Nature 378 (1995) 273-275
19. Burtt B.D. Burtt memorial supplement: some East African vegetation communities. J. Ecol. 30 (1942) 65-146
20. Clarke R.J. Newly revealed information on the Sterkfontein Member 2 Australopithecus skeleton. S. Afr. J. Sci. 98 (2002) 523-526
21. Cerling T.E. Development of grasslands and savannas in East Africa during the Neogene. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 97 (1992) 241-247
22. Dale I.R., and Greenway P.J. Kenya Trees and Shrubs (1961), Buchanan's Kenya Estates, Nairobi
23. Ehleringer J.R., Cerling T.E., and Heliker B.R. C4 photosynthesis, atmospheric CO2, and climate. Oecologia 112 (1997) 285-299
24. DeGusta D., and Vrba E. A method for inferring paleohabitats from the functional morphology of bovid astragali. J. Archaeol. Sci. 30 (2003) 1009-1022
25. DeGusta D., and Vrba E.S. Methods for inferring paleohabitats from the functional morphology of bovid phalanges. J. Archaeol. Sci. 32 (2005) 1099-1113
26. Denys C. Fossil rodents (other than Pedetidae) from Laetoli. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 117-170
27. de Wit, H.A., 1978. Soils and grassland types of the Serengeti Plain (Tanzania): their distribution and interrelations. Ph.D. Thesis, Agricultural University of Wageningen.
28. Drake R., and Curtis G.H. K-Ar chronology of the Laetoli fossil localities. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 48-52
29. Fernández-Jalvo Y., Denys C., Andrews P., Williams T., Dauphin Y., and Humphrey L. Taphonomy and palaeoecology of Olduvai Bed-I (Pleistocene, Tanzania). J. Hum. Evol. 34 (1998) 137-172
30. Field R., O'Brien E.M., and Whittaker R.J. Global models for predicting the climatic potential for (tree-shrub) plant richness: development and evaluation. Ecology 86 (2005) 2263-2277
31. Gentry A.W., and Gentry A. Fossil Bovidae (Mammalia) of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. (Geol.) 29 (1978) 289-446 30, 1-83
32. Griffiths J.F. Climate and the Environment (1976), Westview Press, Boulder
33. Grine F. Dental evidence for dietary differences in Australopithecus and Paranthropus: a quantitative analysis of permanent molar microwear. J. Hum. Evol. 15 (1986) 783-822
34. Grunblatt J., Ottichilo W.K., and Sinange R.K. A hierarchical approach to vegetation classification in Kenya. Afr. J. Ecol. 27 (1989) 45-51
35. Harris J.M. Fossil Giraffidae and Camelidae from Laetoli. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 358-377
36. Harrison T. The first record of fossil hominins from the Ndolanya Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 119S (2002) 83
37. Harrison, T. Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli, Tanzania: Human Evolution in Context, vol. 1: Geology, Geochronology, Paleoecology and Paleoenvironment. Springer, Dordrecht, in preparation.
38. Hawkins B.A., Montoya D., Rodriguez M.A., Olalla-Tarraga M.A., and Zavala M.A. Global models for predicting woody plant richness from climate: comment. Ecology 88 (2006) 255-259
39. Hay R.L. Geology of the Laetolil Beds. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 23-47
40. Herlocker D., and Dirschl. Vegetation of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Can Wildl. Serv. Rep. 19 (1972) 1-39
41. Hooijer D.A. Hipparions of the Laetolil Beds. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 301-311
42. Jacob B. Estimation of rainfall variables from leaf characters in tropical Africa. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 145 (1999) 231-250
43. Jager, T.J., 1982. Soils of the Serengeti Woodlands, Tanzania. Research Report 912, 1-238.
44. Janis C.M. The significance of fossil ungulate communities as indicators of vegetation structure and climate. In: Benchley P.J. (Ed). Fossils and Climate (1984), Wiley, New York 85-104
45. Janis C. A climatic explanation for patterns of evolutionary diversity in ungulate mammals. Palaeontology 32 (1989) 463-481
46. Johanson D., White T., and Coppens Y. A new species of the genus Australopithecus (Primates: Hominidae) from the Pliocene of eastern Africa. Kirtlandia 28 (1978) 1-14
47. Kalb J.E. Fossil elephantoids, Awash paleolake basins, and the Afar triple junction, Ethiopia. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 114 (1995) 357-368
48. Kappelman J. The paleoenvironment of Kenyapithecus at Fort Ternan. J. Hum. Evol. 20 (1991) 95-129
49. Kappelman J., Plummer T., Bishop L., Duncan A., and Appleton S. Bovids as indicators of Plio-Pleistocene paleoenvironments in East Africa. J. Hum. Evol. 32 (1997) 229-256
50. Kimbel W.H., Walter R.C., Johanson D.C., Reed K.E., Aronson J.L., Assefa Z., Marean C.W., Eck G.G., Bobe R., Hovers E., Rak Y., Vondra C., Yemane T., York D., Chen Y., Evensen N.M., and Smith P.E. Late Pliocene Homo and Oldowan tools from the Hadar Formation (Kada Hadar Member) Ethiopia. J. Hum. Evol. 31 (1996) 549-561
51. Kingston J.D., and Harrison T. Isotopic dietary reconstructions of Pliocene herbivores at Laetoli: implications for early hominin paleoecology. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 243 (2007) 272-306
52. Köhler M. Skeleton and habitat of recent and fossil ruminants. Munchener Geowiss. Abh. 25 (1993) 1-88
53. Kovarovic K., and Andrews P. Bovid postcranial ecomorphological survey of the Laetoli palaeoenvironment. J. Hum. Evol. 52 (2007) 663-680
54. Kovarovic K., Andrews P., and Aiello L. The palaeoecology of the Ndolanya beds, Laetoli. J. Hum. Evol. 43 (2002) 395-418
55. Leakey M.G., Feibel C.S., McDougall I., and Walker A. New four million year hominid species from Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Kenya. Nature 376 (1995) 565-571
56. Leakey M.D., and Hay R. Pliocene footprints in the Laetolil Beds at Laetoli, northern Tanzania. Nature 278 (1979) 317-323
57. Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. Laetoli: A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Oxford University Press, Oxford
58. Lind E.M., and Morrison M.E.S. East African Vegetation (1974), Longman, London
59. Marean C. Sabretooth cats and their relevance for early hominid diet and evolution. J. Hum. Evol. 18 (1989) 559-582
60. Michelmore A.P.G. Observations on tropical African grasslands. J. Ecol. 27 (1939) 282-312
61. Musiba C.M., Vogt M., and Branting S. Laetoli Pliocene landscape reconsidered: a reanalysis via functional morphology and taphonomic data. J. Hum. Evol. 42 (2002) A25
62. Norton-Griffiths M., Herlocker D., and Pennycuick L. The patterns of rainfall in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 13 (1975) 347-375
63. O'Brien E. Climatic gradients in woody plant species richness: towards an explanation based on an analysis of southern Africa's woody flora. J. Biogeogr. 20 (1993) 181-198
64. O'Brien E.M. Water-energy dynamics, climate and prediction of woody plant species richness: an interim general model. J. Biogeogr. 25 (1998) 379-398
65. O'Brien E.M., and Peters C.R. Landforms, climate, ecogeographic mosaics, and the potential for early hominid biodiversity. In: Bromage T., and Schrenk F. (Eds). African Biogeography, Climate Change, and Human Evolution (1999), Oxford University Press, Oxford 115-137
66. O'Brien E.M., Whittaker R.J., and Fields R. Climate and woody plant diversity in southern Africa: relationships at species, genus and family levels. Ecography 21 (1998) 495-509
67. O'Brien E.M., Whittaker R.J., and Fields R. Climatic gradients in woody plant (tree and shrub) diversity: water-energy dynamics, residual variation, and topography. Oikos 89 (2000) 588-600
68. Pickford M., and Senut B. The geological and faunal context of Late Miocene hominid remains from Lukeino, Kenya. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 332 (2001) 145-152
69. Plummer T.W., and Bishop L.C. Hominid paleoecology at Olduvai Gorge. Tanzania as indicated by antelope remains. J. Hum. Evol. 27 (1994) 47-75
70. Pratt D.J., Greenway P.J., and Gwynne M.D. A classification of East African rangeland. J. Appl. Ecol. 3 (1966) 369-382
71. Reed K.E. Early hominid evolution and ecological change through the African Plio-Pleistocene. J. Hum. Evol. 32 (1997) 289-322
72. Sands W.A. Ichnocoenoses of probable termite origin from Laetoli. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli: A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Oxford University Press, Oxford 409-433
73. Schmidt W. The vegetation of the northeastern Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Phytocoenologia 3 (1975) 30-82
74. Scott K.M. Allometric trends and locomotor adaptations in the Bovidae. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 179 (1985) 197-288
75. Scott R.S., Kappelman J., and Kelley J. The paleoenvironment of Sivapithecus parvada. J. Hum. Evol. 36 (1999) 245-274
76. Senut B., Pickford M., Gommery D., Mein P., Cheboi K., and Coppens Y. First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino formation, Kenya). C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 332 (2001) 137-144
77. Shipman P., and Harris J.M. Habitat preference and paleoecology of Australopithecus boisei in Eastern Africa. In: Grine F.E. (Ed). Evolutionary History of the Robust Australopithecines (1988), Aldine, New York 343-381
78. Sikes N.E. Early hominid habitat preferences in East Africa: paleosol carbon isotope evidence. J. Hum. Evol. 27 (1994) 25-45
79. Sinclair A.R.E., and Norton-Griffiths M. Serengeti, Dynamics of an Ecosystem (1979), University of Chicago Press, Chicago
80. Soligo C., and Andrews P. Taphonomic bias, taxonomic bias and historical non-equivalence of faunal structure in early hominin localities. J. Hum. Evol. 49 (2005) 206-229
81. Solounias N., Teaford M.F., and Walker A.C. Interpreting the diet of extinct ruminants: the case of a non-browsing giraffid. Paleobiology 14 (1988) 287-300
82. Stern J.T., and Susman R.L. The locomotor anatomy of Australopithecus afarensis. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 60 (1983) 279-317
83. Trapnell C.G., and Griffiths J.F. The rainfall-altitude relation and its ecological significance in Kenya. E. Afr. Agr. J. 25 (1960) 207-213
84. Van Valkenburgh B. Skeletal indicators of locomotor behaviour in living and extinct carnivores. J. Vert. Paleontol. 7 (1987) 162-182
85. Verdcourt B. Mollusca from the Laetolil and upper Ndolanya Beds. In: Leakey M.D., and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli, A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (1987), Clarendon Press, Oxford 438-450
86. Vignaud P., Duringer P., Mackaye H.T., Likius A., Blondel C., Boisserie J.-R., De Bonis L., Eisenmann V., Etienne M.-E., Geraads D., Guy F., Lehmann T., Lihoreau F., Lopez-Martinez N., Mourer-Chauvire C., Otero O., Rage J.-C., Schuster M., Viriot L., Zazzo A., and Brunet M. Geology and palaeontology of the upper Miocene Toros-Menalla hominid locality, Chad. Nature 418 (2002) 152-154
87. Viranta S., and Andrews P. Carnivore guild structure in the Pasalar Miocene fauna. J. Hum. Evol. 28 (1995) 343-372
88. Walker A.C. Diets and teeth. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 292 (1981) 57-64
89. Watson, R.M., 1967. The population ecology of the wildebeest in the Serengeti. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge.
90. White F. The Vegetation of Africa (1983), AETFAT/UNESCO, Paris
91. White T., Suwa G., and Asfaw B. Australopithecus ramidus, a new species of early hominid from Aramis, Ethiopia. Nature 371 (1995) 306-312
92. Whittaker R.H. Evolution of species diversity in land communities. Evol. Biol. 10 (1977) 1-67
93. WoldeGabriel G., Haile-Selassie Y., Renne P.R., Hart W.K., Ambrose S.H., Asfaw B., Heiken G., and White T. Geology and palaeontology of the late Miocene Middle Awash valley, Afar rift, Ethiopia. Nature 412 (2001) 175-178