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Title: | Pollen analysis of present-day striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) scats from central Iran : implications for dryland paleoecology and animal paleoethology |
Authors: | Djamali, Morteza Mashkour, Marjan Akhani, Hossein Belkacem, Dahvya Gambin, Belinda Leydet, Michelle Samadi, Nafiseh Tengberg, Margareta Gandouin, Emmanuel |
Keywords: | Hyenas, Fossil -- Iran Animal remains (Archaeology) -- Iran Animal paleopathology -- Iran Paleoecology -- Holocene Palynology -- Iran |
Issue Date: | 2020 |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Citation: | Djamali, M., Mashkour, M., Akhani, H., Belkacem, D., Gambin, B., Leydet, M.,...Gandouin, E. (2020). Pollen analysis of present-day striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) scats from central Iran: Implications for dryland paleoecology and animal paleoethology. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 281, 104277. |
Abstract: | The striped hyena is the largest living omnivorous scavenger in SW Asia. It generally lives in semi-arid desert steppe regions, often denning in small caves, rock shelters, and burrows close to human settlements. Bone fragments of wild and domestic animals and desiccated scats are frequently found in the hyena dens. In this study, eight striped hyena desiccated scats were subjected to pollen analysis. All scats were rich in pollen and the exine was well-preserved with no visible sign of corrosion. Pollen spectra revealed interesting information on the regional and local vegetation, as well as the foraging behavior and diet of the animal. They reflected an array of different landscapes ranging from natural/semi-natural xerophytic desert steppes, agricultural fields, and grazing pastures. Some scats contained certain pollen taxa very rarely observed in wetland sediments, indicating the high potential of hyena “copropalynology” in providing detailed information on the past floristic composition of the landscape.When comparingwith archeobotanical data fromthe area, the hyena scat assemblages show that the general physiognomy of the landscape has remained almost unchanged since the 6th millennium B.C., with only minor changes in the composition or density of the woody components of the desert steppe. As most of the Holocene fossil coprolites in archeological and paleontological sites of SW Asia would have been left by striped hyena, the study of the modern analogs of such accumulations in extant hyena dens is helpful to correctly interpret the fossil faunal assemblages to reconstruct the paleolandscapes, land-use change, and animal paleoethology. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/106549 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - InsESEMP |
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Pollen analysis of present day striped hyena Hyaena hyaena scats from central Iran Implications for dryland paleoecology and animal paleoethology 2020.pdf Restricted Access | 2.31 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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