A Trans-Holocene Archaeological Record of Guadalupe Fur Seals (\u3ci\u3eArctocephalus townsendi\u3c/i\u3e) on the California Coast

Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) were decimated by 19th century commercial sealers in the northeastern Pacific and thought to be extinct until 1928 when commercial fishermen caught two adult males at Isla de Guadalupe from a group of up to 60 adults and pups (Wedgeforth 1928, Huey 1930). These two animals were brought to the San Diego Zoo, prompting several zoological expeditions to Isla de Guadalupe in the 1930s and 1940s, but none successfully located Guadalupe fur seals. In 1949, a single male was seen on San Nicolas Island, California (Bartholomew 1950), and in 1954, a small breeding group of animals was found in a cave at Isla de Guadalupe (Hubbs 1956). The population had grown to at least 500 animals in 1967, to about 7,400 animals in 1993, and to 12,176 in 2003, with breeding populations currently confined to Mexico’s Islas de Guadalupe and San Benito (Peterson et al. 1968, Gallo-Reynoso 1994, Gallo-Reynoso et al. 2005, Carretta et al. 2007). Although small numbers of Guadalupe fur seals haul out on the California Channel Islands today, including a female and single pup born on San Miguel Island in 1997, they are vastly outnumbered by California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), all of which currently breed on San Miguel Island (Stewart et al. 1993, Melin and DeLong 1999, DeLong and Melin 2002). Archaeological and genetic data suggest, however, that the modern distribution and abundance of Guadalupe fur seals are very different from prehistoric distributions (Walker and Craig 1979, Colten 2002, Etnier 2002a, Walker et al. 2002, Weber et al. 2004)

An Anthropocene Without Archaeology—Should We Care?

For more than a decade, a movement has been gathering steam among geoscientists to designate an Anthropocene Epoch and formally recognize that we have entered a new geological age in which Earth’s systems are dominated by humans. Chemists, climatologists, and other scientists have entered the discussion, and there is a growing consensus that we are living in the Anthropocene. Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen (2002a, 2002b; Crutzen and Stoermer 2000) coined the term, but the idea that humans are a driver of our planet’s climate and ecosystems has much deeper roots. Italian geologist Antonio Stoppani wrote of the “anthropozoic era” in 1873 (Crutzen 2002a), and many others have proposed similar ideas, including journalist Andrew Revkin’s (1992) reference to the “Anthrocene” and Vitousek and colleagues (1997) article about human domination of earth’s ecosystems. It was not until Crutzen (2002a, 2002b) proposed that the Anthropocene began with increased atmospheric carbon levels caused by the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century (including the invention of the steam engine in A.D. 1784), however, that the concept began to gain serious traction among scientists and inspire debate

Ecological Change on California’s Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene

Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California’s Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use and ecological changes. Our analysis spans approximately 20,000 years, from before human occupation and through Native American hunter–gatherers, commercial ranchers and fishers, the US military, and other land managers. We demonstrate how long-term, interdisciplinary research provides insight into conservation decisions, such as setting ecosystem restoration goals, preserving rare and endemic taxa, and reducing the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources. We illustrate the importance of historical perspectives for understanding modern patterns and ecological change and present an approach that can be applied generally in conservation management planning.Keywords: novel ecosystems, historical ecology, restoration, conservatio

Glassow, Perry, and Paige: The Punta Arena Site: Early and Middle Holocene Cultural Development on Santa Cruz Island

Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Contributions in Anthropology 3, 2008, 101 pp., 20 b/w gures, 2 maps, 27 tables, $21.95 (soft cover)

Geographic and Temporal Variability of Middle Holocene Red Abalone Middens on San Miguel Island, California

For at least the last half-century, Middle Holocene "red abalone middens" have been of interest to a variety of scientists working on the Channel Islands of California. Paleoclimatologists, oceanographers, ecologists, and archaeologists have all offered hypotheses to explain their widespread occurrence; however, quantification of their midden constituents has generally been insufficient to explain both their temporal and spatial variability. Detailed zooarchaeological analysis is a key component in understanding why these middens appeared at about 7,500 cal B.P. and disappeared at about 3,300 cal B.P. Faunal data from three radiocarbon (carbon 14) dated red abalone middens on San Miguel Island are presented. The analysis demonstrates both the geographic and temporal variability inherent within these sites, and suggests that our models for explaining their presence must account for this complexity