The possible role of predator-prey dynamics as an influence on early hominin use of burned landscapes.

Abstract

Foraging in burned areas has been suggested to represent the earliest stage in the use and control of fire by early hominins. Recently burned areas offer immediate foraging benefits including increased search efficiency for high-ranked food items and decreased hunting opportunities for ambush predators. As such, they provide a triple-bonus (reduced risk from ambush, ease of terrestrial travel and higher foraging returns) for some primates. However, previous studies have not yet accounted for other types of predators e.g., coursing (endurance predators that can pursue prey over long distances) which were sympatric with hominins and may also have exploited these environments. Behavioral ecology studies on the use of burned landscapes by extant carnivores demonstrate that while some ambush predators avoid recently burned areas, coursing predators do take advantage of their immediate hunting opportunities. Research examining habitat selection by animals under the simultaneous threat of multiple predator species with different modes of hunting, and the diversity of Plio-Pleistocene carnivore guild is suggestive of two possible evolutionary scenarios in which hominins could either have selected or avoided burned areas (3-2 mya), based on whether ambush or coursing predators were perceived as presenting the greatest risk.