Nature & Environment
Surprising Fact About Large Terrestrial Mammals: They Depended On Plant Growth For 20 Million Years
Justine E.
First Posted: Sep 16, 2016 06:07 AM EDT
When it comes to large terrestrial mammals like bears, a common impression among some people is that these animals are omnivorous or carnivorous. It is not common to think about how they depend on plants in whatever way. But just recently, a study revealed that the diversity of large terrestrial mammals actually relied on plant for a very long time. To be exact, this was the situation for 20 million years.
According to Phys.org, the primary production determined the ups and downs of diversity in large terrestrial mammals. However, there was a change in pattern during the onset of ice ages and this may be due to human effects in nature.
The study was led by Dr. Susanne Fritz at Senckenberg and the results of their research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The scientists examined 14,000 fossils which were the bases for them to reconstruct the large terrestrial mammals' diversity. They compared it with the plants' biomass production in the same period.
While the relationship among mankind and plants is clear, the latter's impact on the evolution of mammals was yet to be discovered. And through this recent study, it was found that the larger the plans' biomass were, the higher the diversity of mammals evolved. Additionally, a reverse rule was also deemed true: As the biomass production decreases, the number of different animals decreases as well. Among the large mammals that underwent mass extinction were the cave bears, mammoths, and Saiga antelopes.
Meanwhile, Mail Online reported a surprising truth about the cave bears. Studies reveal that they were actually vegans. Unlike the bears of the modern times, they preferred a strictly plant-based diet. This fact likewise explains how reliant the cave bears were on plant growth.
The aforementioned facts are new knowledge to numerous people. They further educate us on the great importance of plants to different animals.
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Sep 16, 2016 06:07 AM EDT
When it comes to large terrestrial mammals like bears, a common impression among some people is that these animals are omnivorous or carnivorous. It is not common to think about how they depend on plants in whatever way. But just recently, a study revealed that the diversity of large terrestrial mammals actually relied on plant for a very long time. To be exact, this was the situation for 20 million years.
According to Phys.org, the primary production determined the ups and downs of diversity in large terrestrial mammals. However, there was a change in pattern during the onset of ice ages and this may be due to human effects in nature.
The study was led by Dr. Susanne Fritz at Senckenberg and the results of their research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The scientists examined 14,000 fossils which were the bases for them to reconstruct the large terrestrial mammals' diversity. They compared it with the plants' biomass production in the same period.
While the relationship among mankind and plants is clear, the latter's impact on the evolution of mammals was yet to be discovered. And through this recent study, it was found that the larger the plans' biomass were, the higher the diversity of mammals evolved. Additionally, a reverse rule was also deemed true: As the biomass production decreases, the number of different animals decreases as well. Among the large mammals that underwent mass extinction were the cave bears, mammoths, and Saiga antelopes.
Meanwhile, Mail Online reported a surprising truth about the cave bears. Studies reveal that they were actually vegans. Unlike the bears of the modern times, they preferred a strictly plant-based diet. This fact likewise explains how reliant the cave bears were on plant growth.
The aforementioned facts are new knowledge to numerous people. They further educate us on the great importance of plants to different animals.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone