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Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions pp 283–300Cite as

Millennial-Scale Ecological Changes in Tropical South America Since the Last Glacial Maximum

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Part of the book series: Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research ((DPER,volume 14))

Abstract

An analysis of rates of ecological change (RoC) from thirteen pollen records from tropical South America is presented here. The analysis aims to identify the periods of fastest change since the last glacial maximum (LGM) and possible driving mechanisms. Despite rapid cooling periods, region-wide profound droughts, fire and human disturbances, RoC analysis showed that the speed of these climate changes never exceed the species response capabilities. Our results legitimize concerns regarding the resilience of species to accommodate future change and emphasize the urgency for integrative environmental measures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 32901, Melbourne, FL, USA

    Dunia H. Urrego

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd., 32901, Melbourne, FL, USA

    Mark B. Bush & Alexander Y. Correa-Metrio

  3. Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, 27109, Winston Salem, NC, USA

    Miles R. Silman

  4. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 203 ISEM Montpellier, France

    Marie-Pierre Ledru

  5. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, EH8 9XP, Edinburgh, UK

    Francis E. Mayle

  6. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 32901, Melbourne, FL, USA

    Gina Paduano & Bryan G. Valencia

Authors
  1. Dunia H. Urrego
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  2. Mark B. Bush
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  3. Miles R. Silman
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  4. Alexander Y. Correa-Metrio
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  5. Marie-Pierre Ledru
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  6. Francis E. Mayle
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  7. Gina Paduano
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  8. Bryan G. Valencia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dunia H. Urrego .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IRD, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91191, France

    Francoise Vimeux

  2. L'Institut de Recherché pour le, CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, 13545, France

    Florence Sylvestre

  3. IRD, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91191, France

    Myriam Khodri

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Urrego, D.H. et al. (2009). Millennial-Scale Ecological Changes in Tropical South America Since the Last Glacial Maximum. In: Vimeux, F., Sylvestre, F., Khodri, M. (eds) Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2672-9_12

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