Coot nesting on bike on a lake in Copenhagen. Birds and humans also co-inhabited specific environments in our prehistory, new research shows. Photo Credit: Lisa Yeomans |
Roughly 14,500 to 10,500 years ago, in the transition from the last glacial period, humans harvesting vegetation from the wetlands of eastern Jordan created a habitat for birds that would otherwise have migrated, a new study reveals. It shows that human activity is not necessarily detrimental to biodiversity but may allow for species to co-inhabit specific environments, the researchers suggest.
The presence of humans is usually associated with negative effects on flora and fauna, and our species has demonstrably influenced biodiversity negatively in the course of history.
But in a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Turin have discovered that some human activities may have had an encouraging effect on biodiversity through modification of specific ecosystems.