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Absence of Quaternary Red Sea land bridges: biogeographic implications

Absence of Quaternary Red Sea land bridges: biogeographic implications
Absence of Quaternary Red Sea land bridges: biogeographic implications
In a large number of studies concerned with species movements between Africa and Eurasia, including the migrations of hominids out of Africa, a frequently-cited dispersal route is across a hypothetical land bridge in the southern Red Sea, which is suggested to have emerged during glacial sea-level lowstands. This paper, however, unequivocally demonstrates that palaeoceanographic and palaeoecological data are incompatible with the existence of Red Sea land bridges since the Miocene. The case is made by presenting the first quantitative history of water depth above the Red Sea sill for the last 470,000 years, a time period that includes the four most recent glacial–interglacial cycles, and by discussing the predictable consequences of any land bridge formation on the Red Sea sedimentary and microfossil records. The absence of post-Miocene Red Sea land bridges has extensive implications for biogeographic models in the Afro-Arabian region. Genetic, morphometric and palaeontological patterns reported in the literature cannot be related to dispersals over a land bridge, or in the case of marine organisms, separation of the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean by a land bridge. If such patterns in terrestrial species are only congruent with a southern Red Sea dispersal route, then they need to be considered in terms of sweepstake rafting, anthropogenic introduction, or in the particular case of the Out-of-Africa migration by modern humans, seafaring. The constraints imposed by our palaeoenvironmental record on biogeographic reconstructions within and around the Red Sea will hopefully encourage both the review of previous works and the preference for multidisciplinary approaches in future studies.
0305-0270
961-966
Fernandes, C.
a2ad6c48-9a08-4116-8278-29243c4adaeb
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Siddall, M.
9c045dd5-498b-488b-9c67-23e24d90ebcc
Fernandes, C.
a2ad6c48-9a08-4116-8278-29243c4adaeb
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Siddall, M.
9c045dd5-498b-488b-9c67-23e24d90ebcc

Fernandes, C., Rohling, E.J. and Siddall, M. (2006) Absence of Quaternary Red Sea land bridges: biogeographic implications. Journal of Biogeography, 33 (6), 961-966. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01478.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In a large number of studies concerned with species movements between Africa and Eurasia, including the migrations of hominids out of Africa, a frequently-cited dispersal route is across a hypothetical land bridge in the southern Red Sea, which is suggested to have emerged during glacial sea-level lowstands. This paper, however, unequivocally demonstrates that palaeoceanographic and palaeoecological data are incompatible with the existence of Red Sea land bridges since the Miocene. The case is made by presenting the first quantitative history of water depth above the Red Sea sill for the last 470,000 years, a time period that includes the four most recent glacial–interglacial cycles, and by discussing the predictable consequences of any land bridge formation on the Red Sea sedimentary and microfossil records. The absence of post-Miocene Red Sea land bridges has extensive implications for biogeographic models in the Afro-Arabian region. Genetic, morphometric and palaeontological patterns reported in the literature cannot be related to dispersals over a land bridge, or in the case of marine organisms, separation of the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean by a land bridge. If such patterns in terrestrial species are only congruent with a southern Red Sea dispersal route, then they need to be considered in terms of sweepstake rafting, anthropogenic introduction, or in the particular case of the Out-of-Africa migration by modern humans, seafaring. The constraints imposed by our palaeoenvironmental record on biogeographic reconstructions within and around the Red Sea will hopefully encourage both the review of previous works and the preference for multidisciplinary approaches in future studies.

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Published date: 2006

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 41406
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/41406
ISSN: 0305-0270
PURE UUID: 68fa9313-bc91-471a-a736-13e012f75f78
ORCID for E.J. Rohling: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5349-2158

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Date deposited: 01 Sep 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:46

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Contributors

Author: C. Fernandes
Author: E.J. Rohling ORCID iD
Author: M. Siddall

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