Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

Eline Lorenzen; David Bravo Nogues; Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando; Jacobo Weinstock Arenovitz; Jonas Khalid Mohamed Awad Binladen; Katharine Ann Marske; Andrew Ugan; Michael Krabbe Borregaard; M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Rasmus Nielsen; Simon Y. W. Ho; Ted Goebel; Kelly E. Graf; David Byers; Jesper Stenderup; Morten Rasmussen; Paula Campos; Jennifer A. Leonard; Klaus-Peter Koepfli; Duane Froese; Grant Zazula; Thomas Stafford jr.; Kim Aaris-Sørensen; Persaram Batra; Alan M. Haywood; Joy S. Singarayer; Paul J. Valdes; Gennady Boeskorov; James A. Burns; Sergey P. Davydov; James Seymour Haile; Dennis L. Jenkins; Pavel Kosintsev; Tatyana Kuznetsova; Xulong Lai; Larry D. Martin; H. Gregory McDonald; Dick Mol; Morten Meldgaard; Kasper Munch; Elisabeth Stephan; Mikhail Sablin; Robert S. Sommer; Taras Sipko; Eric Scott; Marc A. Suchard; Alexei Tikhonov; Rane Willerslev; Robert K. Wayne; Alan Cooper; Michael Hofreiter; Andrei Sher; Beth Shapiro; Carsten Rahbek; Eske Willerslev

doi:10.1038/nature10574

Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

Eline Lorenzen, David Bravo Nogues, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando, Jacobo Weinstock Arenovitz, Jonas Khalid Mohamed Awad Binladen, Katharine Ann Marske, Andrew Ugan, Michael Krabbe Borregaard, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Rasmus Nielsen, Simon Y. W. Ho, Ted Goebel, Kelly E. Graf, David Byers, Jesper Stenderup, Morten Rasmussen, Paula Campos, Jennifer A. Leonard, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Duane FroeseGrant Zazula, Thomas Stafford jr., Kim Aaris-Sørensen, Persaram Batra, Alan M. Haywood, Joy S. Singarayer, Paul J. Valdes, Gennady Boeskorov, James A. Burns, Sergey P. Davydov, James Seymour Haile, Dennis L. Jenkins, Pavel Kosintsev, Tatyana Kuznetsova, Xulong Lai, Larry D. Martin, H. Gregory McDonald, Dick Mol, Morten Meldgaard, Kasper Munch, Elisabeth Stephan, Mikhail Sablin, Robert S. Sommer, Taras Sipko, Eric Scott, Marc A. Suchard, Alexei Tikhonov, Rane Willerslev, Robert K. Wayne, Alan Cooper, Michael Hofreiter, Andrei Sher, Beth Shapiro, Carsten Rahbek, Eske Willerslev

427 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature
Volume	479
Issue number	7373
Pages (from-to)	359-364
Number of pages	6
ISSN	0028-0836
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10574
Publication status	Published - 17 Nov 2011

Keywords

Animals
Bayes Theorem
Biota
Bison
Climate Change
DNA, Mitochondrial
Europe
Extinction, Biological
Fossils
Genetic Variation
Geography
History, Ancient
Horses
Human Activities
Humans
Mammals
Mammoths
Molecular Sequence Data
Population Dynamics
Reindeer
Siberia
Species Specificity
Time Factors

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/nature10574

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Lorenzen, E., Nogues, D. B., Orlando, L. A. A., Weinstock Arenovitz, J., Binladen, J. K. M. A., Marske, K. A., Ugan, A., Borregaard, M. K., Gilbert, M. T. P., Nielsen, R., Ho, S. Y. W., Goebel, T., Graf, K. E., Byers, D., Stenderup, J., Rasmussen, M., Campos, P., Leonard, J. A., Koepfli, K-P., ... Willerslev, E. (2011). Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans. Nature, 479(7373), 359-364. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10574

Lorenzen, E , Nogues, DB, Orlando, LAA, Weinstock Arenovitz, J, Binladen, JKMA, Marske, KA, Ugan, A, Borregaard, MK , Gilbert, MTP , Nielsen, R, Ho, SYW, Goebel, T, Graf, KE, Byers, D, Stenderup, J, Rasmussen, M, Campos, P, Leonard, JA, Koepfli, K-P, Froese, D, Zazula, G, Stafford jr., T, Aaris-Sørensen, K, Batra, P, Haywood, AM, Singarayer, JS, Valdes, PJ, Boeskorov, G, Burns, JA, Davydov, SP, Haile, JS, Jenkins, DL, Kosintsev, P, Kuznetsova, T, Lai, X, Martin, LD, McDonald, HG, Mol, D, Meldgaard, M, Munch, K, Stephan, E, Sablin, M, Sommer, RS, Sipko, T, Scott, E, Suchard, MA, Tikhonov, A, Willerslev, R, Wayne, RK, Cooper, A, Hofreiter, M, Sher, A, Shapiro, B, Rahbek, C & Willerslev, E 2011, 'Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans', Nature, vol. 479, no. 7373, pp. 359-364. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10574

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title = "Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans",

abstract = "Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.",

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author = "Eline Lorenzen and Nogues, {David Bravo} and Orlando, {Ludovic Antoine Alexandre} and {Weinstock Arenovitz}, Jacobo and Binladen, {Jonas Khalid Mohamed Awad} and Marske, {Katharine Ann} and Andrew Ugan and Borregaard, {Michael Krabbe} and Gilbert, {M. Thomas P.} and Rasmus Nielsen and Ho, {Simon Y. W.} and Ted Goebel and Graf, {Kelly E.} and David Byers and Jesper Stenderup and Morten Rasmussen and Paula Campos and Leonard, {Jennifer A.} and Klaus-Peter Koepfli and Duane Froese and Grant Zazula and {Stafford jr.}, Thomas and Kim Aaris-S{\o}rensen and Persaram Batra and Haywood, {Alan M.} and Singarayer, {Joy S.} and Valdes, {Paul J.} and Gennady Boeskorov and Burns, {James A.} and Davydov, {Sergey P.} and Haile, {James Seymour} and Jenkins, {Dennis L.} and Pavel Kosintsev and Tatyana Kuznetsova and Xulong Lai and Martin, {Larry D.} and McDonald, {H. Gregory} and Dick Mol and Morten Meldgaard and Kasper Munch and Elisabeth Stephan and Mikhail Sablin and Sommer, {Robert S.} and Taras Sipko and Eric Scott and Suchard, {Marc A.} and Alexei Tikhonov and Rane Willerslev and Wayne, {Robert K.} and Alan Cooper and Michael Hofreiter and Andrei Sher and Beth Shapiro and Carsten Rahbek and Eske Willerslev",

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language = "English",

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AU - Lorenzen, Eline

AU - Nogues, David Bravo

AU - Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre

AU - Weinstock Arenovitz, Jacobo

AU - Binladen, Jonas Khalid Mohamed Awad

AU - Marske, Katharine Ann

AU - Ugan, Andrew

AU - Borregaard, Michael Krabbe

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

AU - Nielsen, Rasmus

AU - Ho, Simon Y. W.

AU - Goebel, Ted

AU - Graf, Kelly E.

AU - Byers, David

AU - Stenderup, Jesper

AU - Rasmussen, Morten

AU - Campos, Paula

AU - Leonard, Jennifer A.

AU - Koepfli, Klaus-Peter

AU - Froese, Duane

AU - Zazula, Grant

AU - Stafford jr., Thomas

AU - Aaris-Sørensen, Kim

AU - Batra, Persaram

AU - Haywood, Alan M.

AU - Singarayer, Joy S.

AU - Valdes, Paul J.

AU - Boeskorov, Gennady

AU - Burns, James A.

AU - Davydov, Sergey P.

AU - Haile, James Seymour

AU - Jenkins, Dennis L.

AU - Kosintsev, Pavel

AU - Kuznetsova, Tatyana

AU - Lai, Xulong

AU - Martin, Larry D.

AU - McDonald, H. Gregory

AU - Mol, Dick

AU - Meldgaard, Morten

AU - Munch, Kasper

AU - Stephan, Elisabeth

AU - Sablin, Mikhail

AU - Sommer, Robert S.

AU - Sipko, Taras

AU - Scott, Eric

AU - Suchard, Marc A.

AU - Tikhonov, Alexei

AU - Willerslev, Rane

AU - Wayne, Robert K.

AU - Cooper, Alan

AU - Hofreiter, Michael

AU - Sher, Andrei

AU - Shapiro, Beth

AU - Rahbek, Carsten

AU - Willerslev, Eske

PY - 2011/11/17

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N2 - Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.

AB - Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.

KW - Animals

KW - Bayes Theorem

KW - Biota

KW - Bison

KW - Climate Change

KW - DNA, Mitochondrial

KW - Europe

KW - Extinction, Biological

KW - Fossils

KW - Genetic Variation

KW - Geography

KW - History, Ancient

KW - Horses

KW - Human Activities

KW - Humans

KW - Mammals

KW - Mammoths

KW - Molecular Sequence Data

KW - Population Dynamics

KW - Reindeer

KW - Siberia

KW - Species Specificity

KW - Time Factors

U2 - 10.1038/nature10574

DO - 10.1038/nature10574

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 22048313

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 479

SP - 359

EP - 364

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7373

ER -

Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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