Bartomeu Seguí

Bio: Bartomeu Seguí is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Myotragus & Endemism. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 7 publications receiving 80 citations.

Extinctions and Local Disappearances of Vertebrates in the Western Mediterranean Islands

Abstract: A landlocked sea between the Eurasian and African plates, the Mediterranean Sea may be thought of as an ocean in miniature (Margalef, 1985). Like other seas on the borderlands between contiguous plates (e.g., Antillean and Sundaland regions), the Mediterranean is rich in islands. The islands of the Mediterranean have a complex paleogeographical history. Some are properly described as “continental,” but others just as clearly resemble oceanic islands, and are named oceanic-like islands (Alcover et al., 1998). This is reflected in their biotic composition. On continental islands, species tend to be identical or nearly identical to those on the adjacent mainland, although much less diverse. In addition to their well-known tendency to exhibit great endemism at the species level, oceanic and oceanic-like islands also display very low diversity at higher taxonomic levels and disharmonious floral and faunal integration as compared with mainland areas of similar size (Alcover et al., 1998).

A New Fulmarine Petrel (Aves: Procellariiformes) from the Upper Miocene of the Western Mediterranean

Abstract: A new sea bird, Pterodromoides minoricensis gen. et sp. nov., similar in size and proportions to species of the modern genus Pterodroma, is described from Late Miocene breccias situated on the north-west coast of Menorca. The cranial osteology is similar to that of fulmarine petrels, but the large orbitonasal opening and characters of the postcranial skeleton justify its classification as a separate genus. At least one other species of procellariid occurs in the accompanying fossil asemblage, suggesting that Late Tertiary ecological conditions favoured sea bird populations in this area of the Mediterranean.

El jaciment fossilífer de la Cova C-2 (Ciutadella de Menorca)

Abstract: catalaEs presenten els resultats de I'excavacio del jaciment paleontologic de la cova C-2 (Ciutadella de Menorca). Es descriu la morfologia de la cova i la seva genesi. El deposit fossilifer ha lliurat 1762 ossos de Myotragus balearicus, 53 ossos d'Eliomys morpheus, aixi corn restes d'ocells i de rnol.luscs. S'han registrat tambe restes de diferents especies introduides pels hurnans. Es descriuen alguns aspectes morfologics dels Myotragus balearicus obtinguts. Es discuteix la tafonomia del jaciment. EnglishIn this paper, the results of the excavation of the upper Pleistocene deposit of cova C-2 (Ciutadella de Menorca) are presented. A description of the cave and its formation is given. The fossiliferous deposit produced 1762 Myotragus balearicus bones, 53 Eliomys morpheus bones, and other vertebrate and mollusc rernains. Some recently introduced species are also recorded, and they are considered as a recent contamination of the fossiliferous deposit. Some morphological traits of the cova C-2 Myotragus balearicus population are described. A discussion upon the taphonorny of the deposit is given.

Sobre alguns jaciments de Myotragus balearicus Bate 1980 (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) de tafonomia infreqüent

Abstract: catalaPresentam la descripcio i interpretacio tafonornica d'una serie de jaciments menorquins i mallorquins de Myotragus balearicus. Es tracta de diposits situats a coves inaccessibles per a un capri. Les restes trobades procedeixen del transport realitzat per ocells de presa de talla gran. El candidat mes versemblant d'haver estat I'agent bioacumulador d'aquests diposits es I'aguila reial, Aquila chrysaetos. EnglishThe description and taphonornical interpretation of several Mallorcan and Menorcan deposits containing Myotragus balearicus are presented in this paper. They are situated inside inaccessible caves for a caprine animal. The studied fossils come frorn accurnulations originated by large avian predators. The most plausible candidate as the bioaccumulator agent is the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos.

Upper Pleistocene and Holocene fossil avifauna from Moleta Cave (Mallorca, Balearic Islands)

Abstract: EnglishThe assemblage of fossil birds Irom Moleta Cave (Muleta Cave) is described. The site was discovered in 1962 and excavated by Waldren (1982). Paleontological materials covered a range from 32,000 to 2,000 years b.p. At the time of the excavations, bird remains were not studied. Between 41 and 50 avian taxa have now been recognized. Seventeen are new for the gymnesie fossil record (Brantal Anser, Aleetoris el. rufa, Alauda arvensis, Anthus pratensis, Phoenieurus oehruros, Saxieola rubetra, S. torquata, Oenanthe oenanthe, Sylvia el. sarda, Sylvia sp. el. S. melanoeephalaleurruea, Fieedula hypoleuea, Passer sp. el. domestieus/ hispaniolensis, Petronia petronia, Carduelis ehloris, Tadorna sp., Calandrella sp., Phylloseopus sp. and Sturnus sp.). Six of them are al so new for the insular Mediterranean. In contrast with Upper Pleistocene avifauna’s of other Mediterranean islands, passerines are extremely abundant while procellariforms and birds of prey are underrepresented. Unfortunately, available stratigraphy data do not allow strong conclusions on the colonization of the island by anthropic fauna in the Holocene. catalaL’objectiu d'aquest treball es donar a coneixer el registre aviari fossil de la Cova de Moleta. El jaciment fou descobert el 1962 per Waldren (1982). Els materials paleontologics obtinguts enregistren un periode de temps compres entre els 32.000 i 2.000 anys A.P. Rere I'exeavaeio, els materials paleornitologies romangueren sense estudiar. En el moment actual, entre 41 i 50 taxons aviaris han estat determinats. 17 son nous per a les Gimnesies (BrantalAnser, Aleetoris el. rufa, Alauda arvensis, Anthus pratensis, Phoenieurus oehruros, Saxieola rubetra, S. torquata, Oenanthe oenanthe, Sylvia el. sarda, Sylvia sp. el. S. melanoeephalaleurruea, Fieedula hypoleuea, Passer sp. el. domestieus/hispaniolensis, Petronia petronia, Carduelis ehloris, Tadorna sp., Calandrela sp., Phylloseopus sp. and Sturnus sp.). D'aquests, sis son tambe nous per a la Mediterrania insular. A diferencia del que succeeix en altres iIIes del nostre mare geografic, els passeriformes son extremadament abundants, mentre que els procel·lariformes i els rapinyaires estan poc representats. Malauradament, tot i que el jaciment enregistra un periode de temps estens, les dades estratigrafiques no permeten extreure massa conclusions sobre la colonitzacio de I'illa per la fauan antropica durant l’Holoce.

Domestication and early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, diffusion, and impact

Abstract: The past decade has witnessed a quantum leap in our understanding of the origins, diffusion, and impact of early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin. In large measure these advances are attributable to new methods for documenting domestication in plants and animals. The initial steps toward plant and animal domestication in the Eastern Mediterranean can now be pushed back to the 12th millennium cal B.P. Evidence for herd management and crop cultivation appears at least 1,000 years earlier than the morphological changes traditionally used to document domestication. Different species seem to have been domesticated in different parts of the Fertile Crescent, with genetic analyses detecting multiple domestic lineages for each species. Recent evidence suggests that the expansion of domesticates and agricultural economies across the Mediterranean was accomplished by several waves of seafaring colonists who established coastal farming enclaves around the Mediterranean Basin. This process also involved the adoption of domesticates and domestic technologies by indigenous populations and the local domestication of some endemic species. Human environmental impacts are seen in the complete replacement of endemic island faunas by imported mainland fauna and in today's anthropogenic, but threatened, Mediterranean landscapes where sustainable agricultural practices have helped maintain high biodiversity since the Neolithic.

The Archaeological Record of Human Impacts on Animal Populations

Abstract: Recent archaeological research has fundamentally altered our understanding of the scope of past human impacts on nondomesticated animal populations. Predictions derived from foraging theory concerning the abundance histories of high-return human prey and diet breadth have been met in many parts of the world. People are known to have introduced a broad variety of nondomesticated animals, from sponges to agoutis and rats, to a remarkably broad set of contexts, in turn causing a wide variety of secondary impacts. By increasing the incidence of fire, human colonists have in some cases transformed the nature of the vegetation on the colonized landscape, in turn dramatically affecting animal populations on those landscapes. In island settings, these triple threats--predation, biotic introductions, and vegetation alteration--routinely led to extinctions but there is no archaeological evidence that small-scale societies caused extinction by predation alone on islands or continents. Indeed, the recent history of this famous argument suggests that it is better seen as a statement of faith about the past rather than as an appeal to reason. Perhaps most importantly, our burgeoning knowledge of past human impacts on animals has important implications for the conservation biology of the future.

Of mice, mastodons and men: human-mediated extinctions on four continents

Abstract: Numerous anthropological and ecological hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of many large-bodied mammals at the terminal Pleistocene. We find that body size distributions of all mammals in North America, South America, Africa and Australia before and after the late Pleistocene show a similar large-size selectivity of extinctions across continents, despite differences in timing. All extinctions coincide with the colonization of the continent by aboriginal man, but only two coincide with periods of climate change. Further, historical (within the last 300 years) extinctions in Australia demonstrate a higher susceptibility of small and medium-sized mammals. On all four continents, large-bodied Recent mammals are threatened by human hunting practices, whereas small-bodied species are not. We conclude that the late Pleistocene extinctions were caused primarily by anthropogenic factors such as human hunting, whereas historical extinctions were due mostly to habitat alteration and exotic species