Island‐wide aridity did not trigger recent megafaunal extinctions in Madagascar

Researchers are divided about the relative importance of people versus climate in triggering the Late Holocene extinctions of the endemic large‐bodied fauna on the island of Madagascar. Specifically, a dramatic and synchronous decline in arboreal pollen and increase in grass pollen ca 1000 yr ago has been alternatively interpreted as evidence for aridification, increased human activity, or both. As aridification and anthropogenic deforestation...