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The Bonneville Estates Rockshelter rodent fauna and changes in Late Pleistocene–Middle Holocene climates and biogeography in the Northern Bonneville Basin, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2012

Dave N. Schmitt  and
Karen D. Lupo
Dave N. Schmitt*
Affiliation:
Desert Research Institute, Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512, USA Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
Karen D. Lupo
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author at: Desert Research Institute, Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512, USA. Email Address:dschmitt@dri.edu
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Abstract

Excavations at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Nevada recovered rodent remains from stratified deposits spanning the past ca. 12,500 14C yr BP (14,800 cal yr BP). Specimens from horizons dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene include species adapted to montane and moist and cool habitats, including yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) and bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Shortly after 9000 14C BP (10,200 cal yr BP) these mammals became locally extinct, or nearly so, taxonomic diversity declined, and the region became dominated by desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida) and other species well-adapted to xeric, low-elevation settings. The timing and nature of changes in the Bonneville Estates rodent fauna are similar to records reported from nearby Homestead and Camels Back caves and provide corroborative data on terminal Pleistocene–early Holocene environments and mammalian responses to middle Holocene desertification. Moreover, the presence of northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) at Bonneville Estates adds to a sparse regional record for that species and similar to Homestead Cave, it appears that the ca. 9500 14C yr BP (10,800 cal yr BP) replacement of the northern pocket gopher by Botta's pocket gopher in the Great Salt Lake Desert vicinity was also in response to climate change.

Keywords

Bonneville BasinRodentsBiogeographyClimate changeLate PleistoceneHoloceneTaxonomic diversity
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 1 , July 2012 , pp. 95 - 102
Copyright
University of Washington

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