188-4 Late Pleistocene Land Snails from Jamaica’s Southern Coast

Session: Linking Biodiversity Loss to Environmental Stressors Through Integrated Approaches (Posters)

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Humans settled in Jamaica much later than other Caribbean islands, with first evidence of human occupancy ~1500 years ago. This paired with climate fluctuations that occurred through the Pleistocene and Holocene make it an ideal location to study the many Quaternary fossil communities and establish an ecological baseline prior to human arrival from which to assess morphologic and taxonomic fluctuations occurring alongside changing environmental conditions. Land snails are useful fossil invertebrates in terrestrial ecosystems due to their abundance and high preservation potential. Changes in shell size and form, diversity, species composition, and relative abundance correspond well to changing biological or environmental conditions; therefore they tend to be used as paleoenvironmental and paleoecological proxies. Like most tropical islands, Jamaica has not only high diversity (>500 known species), but high endemism (>95%) in its land snail species; its modern taxa are also highly restricted to certain regions of the island. Here we examine the fossil land snail assemblages from caves within the Jackson Bay Cave System on the southern coast of Jamaica, which lies within the Portland Bight Protected Area, the largest protected area on the island. The majority of work in these caves has focused on paleoclimate reconstruction and the fossil vertebrate assemblages, with little focus on the invertebrate communities preserved. Because many of the land snail species in Jamaica face threats from anthropogenic factors like invasive species and industrial development, it is important to understand the ecological history of these invertebrate communities.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-7865

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