Prehistoric wilderness in the Mediterranean region

Prehistoric wilderness refers to untouched natural landscapes shaped by geological and climatic changes before human impact. In the prehistoric time, Europe went through many climate changes. The dynamics of glaciers particularly in the northern part of the continent significantly influenced also the Mediterranean region.  Prehistoric wilderness in this part of Europe was highly dynamic, shaped by fluctuating climates and shifting sea levels. All these processes created diverse ecosystems.

Mediterranean dynamic 

The alternation between dry and wet periods had a major impact on the Mediterranean region, causing the sea levels to rise and fall. This process changed the landscape significantly over time. Recent research revealed dramatic disturbance that around 5.6 million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea almost completely dried up, leaving behind large salt deposits instead of water. 

Scientists have studied the serious effects this event had on the plants and animals living in the region. They found that only 86 endemic species (those found nowhere else), or about 11% of the original species, managed to survive this natural disturbance. Most of the species we see in the Mediterranean region today only appeared after the Mediterranean Sea depression filled up with water again. This dramatic event reshaped the region’s biodiversity, and many of today’s species developed in the period following the reflooding of the Mediterranean basin.

From sea to lake and back to sea

Research has shown that the cause of this disturbance was tectonic shifts. That caused the bedrock between Gibraltar and North Africa rise and block the flow of water from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea depression. As a result, the cut off waters caused massive evaporation and number of smaller seas, lakes were created. 

Water level kept dropped down and fragments of sea became increasingly salty. As water levels dropped the thick layers of salt were deposited. In certain moment only a few shallow salt lakes remain from the former sea.

This drastic dry phase ended 5.33 million years ago when the Gibraltar barrier gave way. A massive flash flood then poured into the nearly empty Mediterranean Basin and filled it again thousand years later.

Dynamics of the Mediterranean environment

The formation of the barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea caused a significant change in biodiversity and species spectrum – first as a result of drying, then as a result of flooding. Two-thirds of the species previously native to the Mediterranean Sea basin did not survive this disturbance. Of the 779 endemic species that were found only in the Mediterranean Sea basin, only 86 survived. Most of the species that are found in the Mediterranean Sea today only became established in it after the crisis.

Fossil analyzes thus indicate the literal extinction of Mediterranean biota during this disturbance. The closure and subsequent reopening of the strait, as well as the formation of salt deposits, had a large-scale impact on the processes in this ecosystem.

The restoration took 1.7 million years

The research revealed that although the Mediterranean Sea was probably full again within short period, the ecological recovery took much longer: Biodiversity in terms of the number of species did not recover spontaneously until more than 1.7 million years later. The findings confirmed that the conditions stabilized only very slowly and sufficiently for the few remaining Mediterranean species to spread again and for the new immigrants to obtain a suitable environment for life.

Conclusion

Natural disturbances both in the ancient past and today are a very interesting phenomenon. It is confirmed that they are a decisive factor both in original ecosystems undisturbed by humans, and in ecosystems that have been affected by human activity in recent centuries and are now in the process of natural spontaneous reconstruction of re-wilding.

The Mediterranean region’s prehistoric wilderness was profoundly shaped by disturbances such as tectonic shifts and climatic changes. The dramatic drying and reflooding of the Mediterranean Sea led to significant changes such as biodiversity disturbance and ecological shifts, with slow recovery taking very long time.