Species of the genus Bison, along with many other vertebrate taxa, represented an important part of Pleistocene megafauna. Following the Quaternary extinction event, however, only the American bison ...(Bison bison) and the European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus) survived to present times. The phylogeny of Bison species from the Late Pliocene to the end of the Middle Pleistocene is still uncertain. In comparison, the availability of genetic data has greatly improved our knowledge of Late Pleistocene and Holocene bison. In recent years, the phylogenetic approach has provided new details and insights into the evolution and phylogeny of the genus, such as i) Bison bison evolved from central North American bison populations and, contrary to earlier assumptions, was not the result of mixing with Beringian bison; ii) in Europe, the Late Pleistocene ancestors of Bison bonasus occupied the same areas as coeval Bison priscus; iii) admixture events between the genera Bos and Bison led to the introgression of Bos mitochondrial DNA into extant Bison bonasus, but the exact evolution of the latter remains unknown.
Tooth wear analysis techniques (mesowear and microwear) are employed to analyze dietary traits in proboscideans, perissodactyls and artiodactyls from 33 Pleistocene localities in Britain. The ...objectives of this study are to examine the variability in each taxon, to track dietary shifts through time, and to investigate resource partitioning among species.
The integration of mesowear and microwear results first allowed us to examine dietary variability. We identified differences in variability among species, from more stenotopic species such as Capreolus capreolus to more eurytopic species such as Megaloceros giganteus and Cervus elaphus. Broad dietary shifts at the community level are seen between climatic phases, and are the result of species turnover as well as dietary shifts in the more flexible species. The species present at each locality are generally spread over a large part of the dietary spectrum, and resource partitioning was identified at most of these localities. Mixed feeders always coexist with at least one of the two strict dietary groups, grazers or browsers. Finally, for some species, a discrepancy is observed between meso- and microwear signals and may imply that individuals tended to die at a time of year when their normal food was in short supply.
•Tooth wear analyses are used to infer diet in large herbivores from Pleistocene sites in Britain.•Integration of mesowear and microwear results allowed to examine dietary variability.•The dietary shifts are tracked and examined through time in each taxa.•Interspecific differences are used to investigate resource partitioning among species.
The arrival of bison in North America marks one of the most successful large-mammal dispersals from Asia within the last million years, yet the timing and nature of this event remain poorly ...determined. Here, we used a combined paleontological and paleogenomic approach to provide a robust timeline for the entry and subsequent evolution of bison within North America. We characterized two fossil-rich localities in Canada’s Yukon and identified the oldest well-constrained bison fossil in North America, a 130,000-y-old steppe bison, Bison cf. priscus. We extracted and sequenced mitochondrial genomes from both this bison and from the remains of a recently discovered, ∼120,000-y-old giant long-horned bison, Bison latifrons, from Snowmass, Colorado. We analyzed these and 44 other bison mitogenomes with ages that span the Late Pleistocene, and identified two waves of bison dispersal into North America from Asia, the earliest of which occurred ∼195–135 thousand y ago and preceded the morphological diversification of North American bison, and the second of which occurred during the Late Pleistocene, ∼45–21 thousand y ago. This chronological arc establishes that bison first entered North America during the sea level lowstand accompanying marine isotope stage 6, rejecting earlier records of bison in North America. After their invasion, bison rapidly colonized North America during the last interglaciation, spreading from Alaska through continental North America; they have been continuously resident since then.
Large bovids and cervids constituted major components of the European Middle Palaeolithic faunas and hence a key resource for Neanderthal populations. In paleoenvironmental reconstructions, red deer ...(Cervus elaphus) occurrence is classically considered as a tree-cover indicator while Bovinae (Bison priscus and Bos primigenius) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) occurrences are typically associated with open landscapes. However, insights into the ecology of extant ungulate populations show a more complex reality. Exploring the diet of past ungulates allows to better comprehend the hunting strategies of Palaeolithic populations and to reconstruct the modifications through time of past landscapes. By reflecting what animals have eaten during the last days or weeks of their life, dental microwear textures of herbivores link a population and its environment. Here we analyzed, via Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA), the diet of 50 Bos/Bison, 202 R. tarandus and 116 C. elaphus preyed upon by the Neanderthals that occupied Combe-Grenal rock-shelter, one of the most important Mousterian archaeo-sequences in southwestern France considering its long stratigraphy, abundance of faunal remains and the variations perceptible in Palaeolithic material culture. Grazers and mixed-feeders are the most represented dietary categories among Combe-Grenal's guild of herbivores, highlighting the availability, along the sequence, of open landscapes. The absence of clear changes in the use of plant resources by hunted ungulates through time, even though palaeoenvironmental changes were well-documented by previous studies along the sequence, is interpreted as resulting from the hunting of non-randomly selected prey by Neanderthals, preferentially in open environments. Thus, these results provide further insight into the hunting strategies of Neanderthals and modify our perception of potential links between subsistence and material culture. Combe-Grenal hunters "stayed in the open" through millennia, and were not forced to switch to hunting tactics and material technology adapted to close encounters in forested environments.
According to the refugee species concept, increasing replacement of open steppe by forest cover after the last glacial period and human pressure had together forced European bison (Bison ...bonasus)--the largest extant terrestrial mammal of Europe--into forests as a refuge habitat. The consequent decreased fitness and population density led to the gradual extinction of the species. Understanding the pre-refugee ecology of the species may help its conservation management and ensure its long time survival. In view of this, we investigated the abundance of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) in radiocarbon dated skeletal remains of European bison and other large herbivores--aurochs (Bos primigenius), moose (Alces alces), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)--from the Early Holocene of northern Europe to reconstruct their dietary habits and pattern of habitat use in conditions of low human influence. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions in collagen of the ungulate species in northern central Europe during the Early Holocene showed significant differences in the habitat use and the diet of these herbivores. The values of the δ13C and δ15N isotopes reflected the use of open habitats by bison, with their diet intermediate between that of aurochs (grazer) and of moose (browser). Our results show that, despite the partial overlap in carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of some species, Early Holocene large ungulates avoided competition by selection of different habitats or different food sources within similar environments. Although Early Holocene bison and Late Pleistocene steppe bison utilized open habitats, their diets were significantly different, as reflected by their δ15N values. Additional isotopic analyses show that modern populations of European bison utilize much more forested habitats than Early Holocene bison, which supports the refugee status of the species.
In contrast to the modern Arctic, high-latitude ecosystems of the Late Pleistocene supported a diverse range of large mammalian herbivores, including abundant bison (Bison priscus) and horses (Equus ...sp.). This ‘mammoth steppe’ biome has no extant analog and modern tundra vegetation is likely incapable of supporting such a high density of large mammals. Compared to modern Arctic ecosystems, higher diversity and biomass of Late Pleistocene large mammal populations may have been sustained by more nutritious forage and/or dietary niche partitioning. We used dental microwear texture analysis and dental mesowear analysis of bison and horses (Bison priscus, Equus sp.) to characterize diet and assess the degree to which dietary differences supported co-existence of these dominant and likely competing herbivores on the mammoth steppe. Additionally, we compared microwear and mesowear of Late Pleistocene specimens to modern Alaska bison (reintroduced Bison bison athabascae and introduced Bison bison bison) and published microwear and mesowear data for extant bovids and equids. Our results demonstrate that Late Pleistocene bison and horses had less abrasive diets than modern obligate grazers, suggesting that these “grazers” of the mammoth steppe likely incorporated more forbs in their diets than modern grazers. Furthermore, Late Pleistocene bison and horses ate foods with similar textures, indicating that dietary niche partitioning alone cannot explain their co-occurrence. However, taphonomic differences between bison and horse specimens indicate potential spatial or temporal niche partitioning during the Late Pleistocene.
•Late Pleistocene Alaskan bison and horse diets were less abrasive than modern grazers.•DMTA supports generalist diets (not obligate grazing) for Alaskan bison and horses.•North slope bison and horse diets likely included herbaceous forbs and grasses.•There is little support for dietary partitioning between Alaskan bison and horses.
Detailed paleoecological evidence from Arctic Alaska’s past megafauna can help reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions and can illustrate ecological adaptation to varying environments. We examined ...a rare, largely articulated and almost complete skeleton of a steppe bison (Bison priscus) recently unearthed in Northern Alaska. We used a multi-proxy paleoecological approach to reconstruct the past ecology of an individual representing a key ancient taxon. Radiocarbon dating of horn keratin revealed that the specimen has a finite radiocarbon age ∼46,000 ± 1000 cal yr BP, very close to the limit of radiocarbon dating. We also employed Bayesian age modeling of the mitochondrial genome, which estimated an age of ∼33,000–87,000 cal yr BP. Our taphonomic investigations show that the bison was scavenged post-mortem and infested by blowflies before burial. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses of sequentially sampled horn keratin reveal a seasonal cycle; furthermore, high δ15N values during its first few years of life are consistent with patterns observed in modern bison that undertook dispersal. We compared sequential analyses of tooth enamel for strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) to a spatial model of 87Sr/86Sr values providing evidence for dispersal across the landscape. Synthesis of the paleoecological findings indicates the specimen lived during interstadial conditions. Our multi-proxy, paleoecological approach, combining light and heavy isotope ratios along with genetic information, adds to the broader understanding of ancient bison ecology during the Late Pleistocene, indicating that ancient bison adopted different degrees of paleo-mobility according to the prevailing paleoecological conditions and climate.
•We provide paleoecological data from a rare and almost complete skeleton of a steppe bison (Bison priscus) from Northern Alaska.•Isotope and ancient DNA results indicate the bison was most likely alive during Marine Isotope Stage 3.•Sequential analyses of tooth enamel for strontium isotope ratios provide evidence for dispersal across the landscape.•We indicate that ancient bison adopted different degrees of paleo-mobility according to the prevailing paleoenvironmental conditions.
ABSTRACT
Numerous paleoecological questions concern the mobility of ancient fauna in eastern Beringia. Strontium (Sr) isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) analysis has emerged as a powerful tracer for ...determining the provenance of ancient biological materials. However, it is important to characterize 87Sr/86Sr variation across a landscape. We measured the 87Sr/86Sr composition of teeth from present‐day, herbivorous rodents (n = 162) sampled from across eastern Beringia to estimate bio‐available 87Sr/86Sr values. We compiled these data with the very limited number of previously published 87Sr/86Sr values from the region. We then used this dataset and a machine learning, random‐forest regression to predict bio‐available 87Sr/86Sr variations across eastern Beringia. As a case study using our new 87Sr/86Sr map (isoscape), we measured the 87Sr/86Sr and oxygen stable isotope values (δ18O) of five radiocarbon‐dated steppe bison from eastern Beringia and compared these to our 87Sr/86Sr isoscape and a δ18O isoscape to estimate the probable landscape use of these ancient fauna. Our model and isoscape provide important foundations for a wide range of additional applications, including studies of the paleo‐mobility of other fauna, ancient people and present‐day fauna in eastern Beringia.
In the deglacial sequence of the largest end moraine system of the Italian Alps, we focused on the latest culmination of the Last Glacial Maximum, before a sudden downwasting of the piedmontane lobe ...occupying the modern lake basin. We obtained a robust chronology for this culmination and for the subsequent deglacial history by cross-radiocarbon dating of a proximal fluvioglacial plain and of a deglacial continuous lake sedimentation. We used reworked dinocysts to locate sources of glacial abrasion and to mark the input of glacial meltwater until depletion. The palynological record from postglacial lake sediments provided the first vegetation chronosequence directly reacting to the early Lateglacial withdrawal so far documented in the Alps.
Glacier collapse occurred soon after 17.46 ± 0.2 ka cal BP, which is, the Manerba advance culmination. Basin deglaciation of several overdeepened foreland piedmont lakes on southern and northern sides of the Alps appears to be synchronous at millennial scale and near-synchronous with large-scale glacial retreat at global scale. The pioneering succession shows a first afforestation step at a median modeled age of 64 years after deglaciation, while rapid tree growth lagged 7 centuries. Between 16.4 ± 0.16 and 15.5 ± 0.16 ka cal BP, a regressive phase interrupted forest growth marking a Lateglacial phase of continental-dry climate predating GI-1. This event, spanning the most advanced phases of North-Atlantic H1, is consistently radiocarbon-framed at three deglacial lake records so far investigated on the Italian side of the Alps. Relationships with the Gschnitz stadial from the Alpine record of Lateglacial advances are discussed.
•The major LGM glacier in the Italian Alps collapsed soon after 17.46 ± 0.2 ka cal BP.•Deglaciation of overdeepened Alpine piedmont lakes synchronous to glacial retreat at global scale.•Vegetation reacted to the Lateglacial withdrawal developing a millennial chronosequence.•A regressive phase interrupted forest growth between 16.4 and 15.5 ka cal BP.
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