Demise of Australia’s large kangaroos likely not caused climate change, study suggests
The marsupials are native to Australia and are also found in nearby New Guinea. A government survey in 2018 estimated the kangaroo population to be around 42.5 million, with the red, eastern grey, western grey and antilopine kangaroos being the most prevalent species.
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ADELAIDE, Australia – A new study has shed light on the extinction of many of Australia’s prehistoric kangaroos, challenging beliefs that their demise was closely linked to climate change.
In university research published in the journal Science, researchers said they used dental analysis to determine feeding habits, which turned out to differ from previous assumptions.
Wildlife biologists had assumed that climate change transformed ecosystems in ways the giant mammals couldn't adapt to, but dental analysis now suggests these animals were actually able to adjust to the changing environment.
"Identifying what drove the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions on the continents remains one of the most contested topics in historical science. This is especially so in Australia, which lost 90% of its large species by 40,000 years ago, more than half of them kangaroos. Determining causation has been obstructed by a poor understanding of their ecology. Using dental microwear texture analysis, we show that most members of Australia’s richest Pleistocene kangaroo assemblage had diets that were much more generalized than their craniodental anatomy implies," study authors stated.
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A kangaroo hops through the outback landscape June 7, 2005 near Marree, Australia.
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The study focused on fossils of species found in southern Australia, and experts compared the suspected diets to modern-day kangaroos.
When an animal chews food, it tends to leave marks on its teeth, which can be studied and compared to known diets.
"Our study shows that most prehistoric kangaroos at Naracoorte had broad diets. This dietary flexibility likely played a key role in their resilience during past changes in climate," Dr. Samuel Arman, one of the lead researchers on the project, told staff at Flinders University in Australia.
So, what caused many of the continent’s large kangaroos to go extinct?
Researchers suggested the arrival of humans played a more significant role than previously thought more than 40,000 years ago.
Hunters primarily used the animals for their meat, with their skins turned into leather and other materials.
"By shedding light on the ecological roles of Australia’s marsupial megafauna, we will develop a better understanding of how its modern ecosystems evolved. Among other things, this might help to contextualize why Australia has been so vulnerable to introduced large mammals, such as pigs, camels, deer, and horses," Arman stated.
Map of red kangaroo territory. Red kangaroos are the largest species of kangaroo in Australia.
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Researchers did not delve into population figures, which were estimated by the Australian government to be between 40 and 50 million in 2018.
The four most common species found throughout Australia and nearby New Guinea are the red, eastern grey, western grey and antilopine kangaroos.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature generally considers kangaroos to be of "Least Concern" due to their significant population numbers and lack of immediate threats.