Tracking Translocations: Interdisciplinary approaches to animal translocations on the California Channel Islands

Summary

One of the greatest human impacts on the environment has been the intentional and unintentional introduction of plants and animals around the world. Islands are particularly susceptible to ecological change following introductions, but distinguishing between natural and cultural introductions of wild taxa is often challenging. Here we present our interdisciplinary approach to investigating the origins of California Channel Island terrestrial mammals that can serve as a framework for helping distinguish natural and cultural translocations around the world. This approach integrates archaeological, isotopic, genomic and radiometric data to explore the role of human agency in island biogeography. Focusing on deer mice (Peromyscus spp.) and island fox (Urocyon littoralis), we examine the timing, origins, and evolutionary history of these species and how humans have influenced their biology and biogeography. This approach allows us to evaluate natural events from ancient hunter-gatherer environmental interactions to inform island conservation and management.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Islands and Invasives: The Archaeology of Plant and Animal Translocations   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage