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• Part I. The Natural Environment and Biogeography of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. 1. The modern landscape of the Olympic Peninsula ; 2. Geology and historical biogeography of the Olympic Peninsula
• Part II. Postglacial Paleoclimate and Environmental Change on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. 3. Postglacial climate on the Olympic Peninsula ; 4. Late Quaternary vegetation and fire history of the Olympic Peninsula ; 5. Brief review of the archaeological record in a context of environmental change ; 6. Insights and future research needs.

This study brings together decades of research on the modern natural environment of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, reviews past research on paleoenvironmental change since the Late Pleistocene, and finally presents paleoecological records of changing forest composition and fire over the last 14,000 years. The focus of this study is on the authors' studies of five pollen records from the Olympic Peninsula. Maps and other data graphics are used extensively. Paleoecology can effectively address some of these challenges we face in understanding the biotic response to climate change and other agents of change in ecosystems. First, species responses to climate change are mediated by changing disturbance regimes. Second, biotic hotspots today suggest a long-term maintenance of diversity in an area, and researchers approach the maintenance of diversity from a wide range and angles (CITE). Mountain regions may maintain biodiversity through significant climate change in 'refugia': locations where components of diversity retreat to and expand from during periods of unfavorable climate (Keppel et al., 2012). Paleoecological studies can describe the context for which biodiversity persisted through time climate refugia. Third, the paleoecological approach is especially suited for long-lived organisms. For example, a tree species that may typically reach reproductive sizes only after 50 years and remain fertile for 300 years, will experience only 30 to 200 generations since colonizing a location after Holocene warming about 11,000 years ago. Thus, by summarizing community change through multiple generations and natural disturbance events, paleoecological studies can examine the resilience of ecosystems to disturbances in the past, showing how many ecosystems recover quickly while others may not (Willis et al., 2010).
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Introduction--
• 1. An Introduction to Late Glacial - Holocene Environments--
• 2. In the Shadow of the Megafauna: Prehistoric Mammal and Bird Extinctions across the Holocene--
• 3. Holocene Mammal Extinctions--
• 4. Holocene Avian Extinctions--
• 5. Past and Future Patterns of Freshwater Mussel Extinctions in North America during the Holocene--
• 6. Holocene Extinctions in the Sea--
• 7. Procellariform Extinctions in the Holocene: Threat Processes and Wider Ecosystem-Scale Implications--
• 8. Coextinction: Anecdotes, Models and Speculation--
• 9. Probabilistic Methods for Determining Extinction Chronologies--
• 10. The Past is Another Country: Is Evidence for Prehistoric, Historical and Present-Day Extinction Really Comparable?--
• 11. Holocene Deforestation: A History of Human-Environmental Interactions, Climate Change and Extinction--
• 12. The Shape of Things to Come: Non-Native Mammalian Predators and the Fate of Island Bird Diversity--
• 13. The Quaternary Fossil Record as a Source of Data for Evidence-Based Conservation: Is the Past the Key to the Future?--
• 14. Holocene Extinctions and the Loss of Feature Diversity-- References.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of data. However, the Holocene (the geological interval spanning the last 11,500 years from the end of the last glaciation) has witnessed massive levels of extinctions that have continued into the modern historical era, but in a context of only relatively minor climatic fluctuations. This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time. Holocene Extinctions describes and analyses the range of global extinction events which have occurred during this key time period, as well as their relationship to both earlier and ongoing species losses. By integrating information from fields as diverse as zoology, ecology, palaeontology, archaeology and geography, and by incorporating data from a broad range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems, this novel text provides a fascinating insight into human impacts on global extinction rates, both past and present.This truly interdisciplinary book is suitable for both graduate students and researchers in these varied fields. It will also be of value and use to policy-makers and conservation professionals since it provides valuable guidance on how to apply lessons from the past to prevent future biodiversity loss and inform modern conservation planning.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)