A thousand bites – Insect introductions and late Holocene environments. (15th January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Panagiotakopulu, Eva; Buckland, Paul C.
• Is Part Of: Quaternary science reviews. Volume 156(2017)
• Page Start: 23
• Page End: 35
• Publication Date: 2017-01-15
• Subjects: Holocene -- Fossil insects -- Human impact -- Europe -- Biogeography -- Pests -- Disease; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-3791

Abstract

Abstract: The impact of insect species directly associated with man-made habitats and human dispersal has been, and remains globally significant. Their early expansion from their original niches into Europe is intrinsically related to discussions of climate change, origins of domesticated plants and animals, the spread of agriculture and infectious diseases. The Holocene fossil records of the dispersal of three storage pest species, Sitophilus granarius, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, and Tribolium castaneum, the housefly, Musca domestica, and the human flea, Pulex irritans from 221 sites have been mapped ranging from the Near East to Europe and from the Neolithic to the post medieval period. The importance of human induced change as a driver for the spread of synanthropic faunas and the potential for the spread of disease during this process are discussed. The results show links between mobility of farming groups and distribution of synanthropic insect species and produce a roadmap for the different cultural periods of the Late Holocene based on dispersal of these synanthropic insects. During the Neolithic, the first wave of insect introductions shows the northern European frontiers of storage of cereals, introduction of domestic animals and pastoralism and exchange. Pest introductions, linked with the itinerary of the Roman army, reached the most northerly parts of the Empire. During the medieval period, the insect records indicate further expansion and changes which parallel the spread of epidemic diseases like Plague. Understanding the timing and the rates of change of synanthropic insects provides key information about the development of the homogenised and highly anthropogenic environments in which we live today. Highlights: The distribution of synanthropic insects from Palaearctic sites, produces a map of contemporary man-made environments. Sitophilus granarius during the Neolithic in Europe provides evidence for the spread of farming and its northern limits. The long term records of synanthropic insects show waves of introductions during the Neolithic, Roman and medieval period. Storage pests in the Roman period in Britain evidence the Roman army itinerary, centralised storage and cereal processing. In the medieval period increasing sites with human fleas, Pulex irritans, may be relevant to the spread of Plague.