A long record of environmental change from bat guano deposits in Makangit Cave, Palawan, Philippines

Michael I. Bird; Ella M. Boobyer; Charlotte Bryant; Helen A. Lewis; Victor Paz; W. Edryd Stephens

doi:10.1017/S1755691007000059

A long record of environmental change from bat guano deposits in Makangit Cave, Palawan, Philippines

Michael I. Bird^*, Ella M. Boobyer, Charlotte Bryant, Helen A. Lewis, Victor Paz, W. Edryd Stephens

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We present the first record of Holocene and Pleistocene environmental change derived from the chemical and stable-isotope composition of a tropical cave guano sequence from Makangit Cave in northern Palawan (Philippines). The 180 cm sequence of guano, derived predominantly from insectivorous bats and birds, consists of two distinct units. An upper section of reddish-brown oxidised guano to 110 cm was deposited since the mid-Holocene while a lower section of black, reduced guano was deposited through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to >30 000 BP. Carbon-isotope (δ¹³C) values in guano deposited during the LGM are as high as -13.5‰ indicating that a C₄ -dominated grassland existed in the area around the cave at this time. Guano δ¹³C values of -25‰ to -28‰ suggest that this open vegetation was replaced by C₃-dominated closed tropical forest, similar to that of the present, by the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the climate of northern Palawan was substantially drier at the LGM than is currently the case.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	59-69
Number of pages	11
Journal	Earth and Environmental Science Transactions Of The Royal Society Of Edinburgh
Volume	98
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755691007000059
Publication status	Published - Mar 2007

Keywords

Carbon-isotope
Palaeoenvironment
Quaternary
Radiocarbon
Sundaland

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/S1755691007000059

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title = "A long record of environmental change from bat guano deposits in Makangit Cave, Palawan, Philippines",

abstract = "We present the first record of Holocene and Pleistocene environmental change derived from the chemical and stable-isotope composition of a tropical cave guano sequence from Makangit Cave in northern Palawan (Philippines). The 180 cm sequence of guano, derived predominantly from insectivorous bats and birds, consists of two distinct units. An upper section of reddish-brown oxidised guano to 110 cm was deposited since the mid-Holocene while a lower section of black, reduced guano was deposited through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to >30 000 BP. Carbon-isotope (δ13C) values in guano deposited during the LGM are as high as -13.5‰ indicating that a C4 -dominated grassland existed in the area around the cave at this time. Guano δ13C values of -25‰ to -28‰ suggest that this open vegetation was replaced by C3-dominated closed tropical forest, similar to that of the present, by the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the climate of northern Palawan was substantially drier at the LGM than is currently the case.",

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AU - Stephens, W. Edryd

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AB - We present the first record of Holocene and Pleistocene environmental change derived from the chemical and stable-isotope composition of a tropical cave guano sequence from Makangit Cave in northern Palawan (Philippines). The 180 cm sequence of guano, derived predominantly from insectivorous bats and birds, consists of two distinct units. An upper section of reddish-brown oxidised guano to 110 cm was deposited since the mid-Holocene while a lower section of black, reduced guano was deposited through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to >30 000 BP. Carbon-isotope (δ13C) values in guano deposited during the LGM are as high as -13.5‰ indicating that a C4 -dominated grassland existed in the area around the cave at this time. Guano δ13C values of -25‰ to -28‰ suggest that this open vegetation was replaced by C3-dominated closed tropical forest, similar to that of the present, by the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the climate of northern Palawan was substantially drier at the LGM than is currently the case.

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A long record of environmental change from bat guano deposits in Makangit Cave, Palawan, Philippines

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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