Ecological traits of the Iberian herpetofauna during the Plio-Pleistocene: Body size and species richness in relation to climate

Identifier:  TDX:4125

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4125

Authors:  Martínez Monzón, Almudena

Abstract:
The present work intends to define the macroecological patterns of herpetofauna reactions to climate changes during the Plio-Pleistocene and turn them over in order to develop a new methodology which can provide further palaeoclimatic insights. With this purpose, the main ecological traits studied in this work are the anuran body size (reconstructed from humeral measurements) and the diversity of the herpetofauna communities. Epidalea calamita and genus Pelophylax are the taxa selected for their study due to their abundance in fossil assemblages of the Plio-Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula. At the Sierra de Atapuerca site complex, the body size of E.calamita and the herpetofauna diversity were analysed taking into account the main climatic events recorded in these sites. In the Guadix-Baza Basin sites the body size of Pelophylax cf. perezi and the herpetofauna diversity are considered together and their variations are examined in relation to the eco-climatic changes occurred in this period. Finally, the palaeontological Pliocene site of Camp dels Ninots is presented as a study case. After building a model grounded on the body size of current populations of the whole genus Pelophylax across Eurasia, a new palaeoclimatic reconstruction is presented for Camp dels Ninots based on the body size of the fossil remains of Pelophylax sp. of this site. In this PhD, it has been demonstrated that: (1) the reconstruction of anuran past body size based on humeral measurements can be done accurately for E. calamita and P. perezi; (2) the temperature is the main factor influencing anuran body size (especially in females) and herpetofauna diversity; (3) due to their relationships with eco-climatic parameters, Pelophylax body size can be used to infer past climatic conditions; and finally (4) changes in the amphibian and reptile diversity reflect the main climatic events recorded in the studied sequences.