100 research outputs found
Ancient DNA reveals interstadials as a driver of common vole population dynamics during the last glacial period
No full textBaca et. al.[Aim] Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigated which climatic and/or environmental factors affect the population dynamics of the common vole. This temperate rodent is widespread across Europe and was one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene.[Location] Europe.[Taxon] Common vole (Microtus arvalis).[Methods] We generated a dataset comprised of 4.2 kb long fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 148 ancient and 51 modern specimens sampled from multiple localities across Europe and covering the last 60 thousand years (ka). We used Bayesian inference to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and to estimate the age of the specimens that were not directly dated.[Results] We estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor of all last glacial and extant common vole lineages to be 90 ka ago and the divergence of the main mtDNA lineages present in extant populations to between 55 and 40 ka ago, which is earlier than most previous estimates. We detected several lineage turnovers in Europe during the period of high climate variability at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57–29 ka ago) in addition to those found previously around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. In contrast, data from the Western Carpathians suggest continuity throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) even at high latitudes.[Main Conclusions] The main factor affecting the common vole populations during the last glacial period was the decrease in open habitat during the interstadials, whereas climate deterioration during the LGM had little impact on population dynamics. This suggests that the rapid environmental change rather than other factors was the major force shaping the histories of the Late Pleistocene faunas.This research was supported by the Polish National Science Centre grants no.: 2015/19/D/NZ8/03878 to Mateusz Baca and 2017/25/B/NZ8/02005 to Adam Nadachowski. Partial funding came from grant 31003A_176209 from the Swiss National Science Foundation to Gerald Heckel. Xabier Murelaga was supported by the IT1602-22 grant from Basque Science System. Fieldwork at Roc-en-Pail (France) was granted by the French Ministry of Culture through the Pays-de-la-Loire Regional Archaeology Service and in 2016 by the Mécène & Loire Fundation. Juan Manuel López-García was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2016-19386) with financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Elisa Luzi was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation with a Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers (ESP1209403HFST-P) Analysis of modern Spanish specimens was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness & European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, EU), projects CGL2011-30274 and CGL2015-71255-P (MINECO-FEDER, EU). Sahra Talamo received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No. 803147 RESOLUTION, https://site.unibo.it/resolution-erc/en). Alexandru Petculescu acknowledges funding by the Romanian Research Authority through grants PCCF 16/2016, PCE 2282/2020, and EEA Grant 126/2018. We also acknowledge the late Rebbeca Miller, the director of Trou Al′Wesse excavations and the “AWaP—Agence Wallonne du Patrimoine” as the main funding institution of the work at the site.Peer reviewe
The Tien Shan vole (Microtus ilaeus; Rodentia: Cricetidae) as a new species in the Late Pleistocene of Europe
No full textAbstract Grey voles (subgenus Microtus) represent a complex of at least seven closely related and partly cryptic species. The range of these species extends from the Atlantic to the Altai Mountains, but most of them occur east of the Black Sea. Using ancient DNA analyses of the Late Pleistocene specimens, we identified a new mtDNA lineage of grey voles in Europe. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequences from 23 voles from three caves, namely, Emine?Bair?Khosar (Crimea, Ukraine), Cave 16 (Bulgaria), and Bacho Kiro (Bulgaria), showed that 14 specimens form a previously unrecognized lineage, sister to the Tien Shan vole. The average sequence divergence of this lineage and the extant Tien Shan vole was 4.8%, which is similar to the divergence of grey vole forms, which are considered distinct species or being on the verge of speciation; M. arvalis and M. obscurus or M. mystacinus and M. rossiaemeridionalis. We estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor of the grey voles to be 0.66 Ma, which is over twice the recent estimates, while the divergence of the extant Tien Shan vole and the new lineage to be 0.29 Ma. Our discovery suggests that grey voles may have been more diversified in the past and that their ranges may have differed substantially from current ones. It also underlines the utility of ancient DNA to decipher the evolutionary history of voles
Cave sediments of the Częstochowa Upland, Central Poland results of interdisciplinary studies
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The taxonomic status of Schelkovnikov's Pine Vole Microtus schelkovnikovi (Rodentia, Mammalia)
No full text. The taxonomic status of Schelkovnikov's Pine Vole Microtus schelkovnikovi (Rodentia, Mammalia). Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 50A(1-2): 67-72. Abstract. A comparison of morphological and karyological traits as well as an analysis of ecological preferences and the distribution pattern support the opinion that Microtus schelkovnikovi does not belong to subgenus Terricola and is the sole member of its own taxonomic species group. Hyrcanicola subgen. nov. comprises a single species Microtus (Hyrcanicola) schelkovnikovi, an endemic and relict form, inhabiting the Hyrcanian broad-leaved forest zone of Azerbaijan and Iran
Zmiany użytkowania środowisk i diety żubra Bison bonasus, tura Bos primigenius i łosia Alces alces w holocenie na obszarze Europy
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Micoquian assemblage and environmental conditions for the Neanderthals in Obłazowa Cave, Western Carpathians, Poland
No full textGravettian hunting and exploitation of bears in Central Europe
No full textEvidence of hunting and exploitation of cave bears (Ursus spelaeus, sensu lato) are recently documented in western and eastern sites of its former European distribution in Middle and Upper Palaeolithic contexts. Human hunting and exploitation has always been accepted for brown bears (Ursus arctos) but not for cave bears. Recently in Hohle Fels (Swabian Jura), a vertebrae was found with an embedded flint projectile. Furthermore, cut and impact marks document processing of this game. Alongside cave bear, small numbers of coeval brown bears are always present in caves. In open-air sites, both bear species are recorded in low but equal numbers. The question why U. arctos survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) still remains open. In this respect, the Gravettian is the crucial period for these questions, as the latest dates for cave bears fall into this time span. The question of whether hunting by Neanderthals or Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) had an impact on the demise and final extinction of cave bears is discussed, considering ecological and behavioural parameters. In this context, Hohle Fels Cave from the Swabian Jura (Germany), and Deszczowa Cave in the Krakowsko-Częstochowska Upland (Poland), as well as five open air sites in the Czech Republic and one from Poland are discussed
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