Ecosystem collapse in Pleistocene Australia

However, between 50,000 and 45,000 years ago, they all vanished. Although recent studies indicate human colonization as a potential cause of their extinction, the exact mechanism has never been resolved. Now, geologist Gifford Miller from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his colleagues believe they have uncovered the answer.

By analyzing the biominerals found in fossil bird eggshells and marsupial teeth, Miller and his colleagues have pieced together the ancient diets of three Australian megafauna to discover what happened to these creatures. What early mechanisms led to the Australian megafauna's demise? Read the story online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/ecosystem-collapse-pleistocene-australia.

Be sure to read this story and more in the June issue of EARTH magazine, available online at http://www.earthmagazine.org. Learn about the rapid erosion happening beneath Greenland's ice sheet; discover the mysterious “Red Deer” people of China; and see why boulders show evidence of earthquakes on Mars all in this month's issue of EARTH.

Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.