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Giant tortoises spread to western Indian Ocean islands by sea drift in pre‐Holocene times, not by later human agency – response to Wilmé et al . (2016a)
Author(s) -
Cheke Anthony S.,
Pedrono Miguel,
Bour Roger,
Anderson Atholl,
Griffiths Christine,
Iverson John B.,
Hume Julian P.,
Walsh Martin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1111/jbi.12882
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , tortoise , holocene , pleistocene , radiocarbon dating , biogeography , geography , ecology , plio pleistocene , paleontology , archaeology , biology , population , demography , sociology
Evidence from DNA phylogeny, Plio‐Pleistocene ocean currents, giant tortoise dispersal, evolution of plant defences, radiocarbon dates and archaeology indicates that the endemic giant tortoises on the Mascarenes and Seychelles colonized naturally and were not translocated there by humans.