Data from: Anthropogenic extinction dominates Holocene declines of West Indian mammals

The massive postglacial mammal losses of the West Indies provide an important opportunity to evaluate extinction dynamics, but limited data have hindered our ability to test hypotheses. Here, we analyze the tempo and dynamics of extinction using a novel dataset of faunal Last Appearance Dates and human First Appearance Dates, demonstrating widespread overlap between humans and extinct terrestrial mammals. Humans arrived in four waves (Lithic, Archaic, Ceramic, European), each associated with increasing environmental impact. Large-bodied mammals and several bats were extinct by the Archaic, following “sitzkrieg” extinction dynamics perhaps reflecting habitat loss. Most small-bodied rodents and lipotyphlans survived the Ceramic, but extensive landscape transformation and invasive introductions following European colonization caused further extinctions, leaving a threatened remnant fauna. Both large- and small-bodied non-volant mammals disappeared, reflecting complex relationships between body size, ecology and anthropogenic change. Extinct bats were generally larger, matching declines from natural catastrophes and human pressure.西印度群岛冰后期哺乳动物的大规模灭绝事件，为评估灭绝动态提供了重要研究契机，但现有数据的局限性阻碍了我们验证相关假说的进程。本研究依托一套涵盖动物类群最后出现年代（Last Appearance Dates）与人类首次出现年代（First Appearance Dates）的全新数据集，分析了灭绝的速率与动态过程，结果表明人类与已灭绝陆生哺乳动物的生存范围存在广泛重叠。人类以四次迁徙浪潮的形式抵达该区域：石器时代（Lithic）、古风时期（Archaic）、陶器时代（Ceramic）以及欧洲殖民时期（European），每一次浪潮都伴随着环境影响的加剧。大型哺乳动物与部分蝙蝠类群在古风时期便已灭绝，其灭绝遵循“阵地战式”（sitzkrieg）灭绝动态模式，这或许反映了栖息地丧失的影响。大多数小型啮齿类与真盲缺目（Lipotyphla）类群在陶器时代得以存续，但欧洲殖民后出现的大规模景观改造与外来物种引入引发了进一步的灭绝事件，仅存受威胁的残存动物区系。大型与小型的非飞行哺乳动物均已灭绝，这反映出体型大小、生态特征与人为活动导致的环境变化之间存在复杂关联。已灭绝的蝙蝠类群通常体型更大，这与自然灾难及人类活动压力下的类群衰退模式相符。