It happens since the Neolithic. Some human activities had an encouraging effect on biodiversity by modifying specific ecosystems. 14,500 years ago, humans harvesting vegetation from the wetlands of eastern Jordan created a new habitat. Birds have taken advantage of human activity since those times. This new habitat prevented, for example, their migration.
Human presence is usually associated with negative effects on flora and fauna. And for good reasons. But research published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory investigates the exceptions. A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Turin do it. They identified in which cases biodiversity flourished thanks to the modification of ecosystems.
sedentary birds
The ecosystem in question is the Shubayqa wetlands in eastern Jordan. Aue now they only flood seasonally. But there is evidence that water was once available for much of the year. It was possible for waterfowl and other species to exist there all year round if they had suitable habitat.
The team's excavations at the Shubayqa sites found evidence. The Neolithic peoples who occupied these sites left their mark. They not only collected emergent vegetation from the wetlands. They also hunted waterfowl and collected their eggs and feathers.
«There are egg shells and bones from juvenile ducks and swans. These birds stayed all year to breed in the wetlands rather than returning to Europe. The modern descendants of these birds can remain and breed in the region only if the environment is suitable for them. Human management of wetlands provided them with adequate ecological niches,” they say in a statement.
Changes for the better
Agriculture developed in this region shortly after these cultures. Intentional wetland management was an important stage in this process. It provided better foraging opportunities in terms of waterfowl, eggs and feathers. Birds take advantage of human activity and the changes they produce in the environment.
The reproduction of waterfowl in Shubayqa demonstrates the presence of water in the wetland throughout the year. It would be unlikely without the action of humans and other species in modifying the environment. For millennia, humans and animals have cohabited in different environments. This cohabitation has been crucial to the innovations that later led to the advent of agriculture.
